The Importance of Partnerships in State Financial Aid Research

Science.gov (United States)

Pingel, Sarah; Weeden, Dustin

2017-01-01

In this essay, we explore the importance of state financial aid programs for both states and the students they serve. Effective state financial aid policy benefits from rigorous research that engages partners from a variety of roles, such as state agencies, legislative staff, and intermediary organizations. It also benefits from the engagement of…

Assessment of Training Needs for Arizona Student Financial Aid Practitioners. Final Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Fenske, Robert H.

The present and future training needs of financial aid practitioners (financial aid officers, counselors, and support staff personnel) at Arizona colleges and government agencies were assessed. Attention was directed to the literature on training and programs for financial aid practitioners, as well as the possibilities of developing a…

A Self-Instructional Course in Student Financial Aid Administration. Module 1--Student Financial Aid Administration: Course Study Guide & Introduction to the Field. Second Edition.

Science.gov (United States)

Washington Consulting Group, Inc., Washington, DC.

The first of a 17-module self-instructional course, this module provides neophyte financial aid administrators and other instructional personnel with a systematic introduction to the management of federal financial aid programs authorized by Title IV of the Higher Education Act. It is an introductory course that presents the major responsibilities…

A Self-Instructional Course in Student Financial Aid Administration. Module 15: Internal Aid Office Management and Institutional Quality Control. Second Edition.

Science.gov (United States)

Washington Consulting Group, Inc., Washington, DC.

The 15th in a 17-module self-instructional course on student financial aid administration (designed for novice financial aid administrators and other institutional personnel) focuses on internal aid office management and institutional quality control. The course provides a systematic introduction to the management of federal financial aid programs…

The Moving Target: Student Financial Aid and Community College Student Retention

Science.gov (United States)

Kennamer, Michael A.; Katsinas, Stephen G.; Schumacker, Randall E.

2011-01-01

This article reviews recent literature on student financial aid as a retention tool at community colleges. Enrollment and tuition data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), and federal direct grant student aid data from the IPEDS Student Financial Aid Survey are used to…

Financial Aid Tipping Points: An Analysis of Aid and Academic Achievement at a California Community College

Science.gov (United States)

Coria, Elizabeth; Hoffman, John L.

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore relationships between financial aid awards and measures of student academic achievement. Financial aid and academic records for 11,956 students attending an urban California community college were examined and analyzed using simultaneous linear regression and two-way factorial ANOVAs. Findings revealed a…

Financial Aid Policy: Lessons from Research. NBER Working Paper No. 18710

Science.gov (United States)

Dynarski, Susan; Scott-Clayton, Judith

2013-01-01

In the nearly fifty years since the adoption of the Higher Education Act of 1965, financial aid programs have grown in scale, expanded in scope, and multiplied in form. As a result, financial aid has become the norm among college enrollees. The increasing size and complexity of the nation's student aid system has generated questions about…

The Struggles of Financial Aid for Higher Education in Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Kussuda, Cintia

2016-01-01

This paper examines the higher education system in Brazil and one of the financial aid policies that the government has established. It seeks to find whether the Fundo de Financiamento ao Estudante do Ensino Superior (FIES), Financing of Higher Education Student, a financial aid program established by the Brazilian government in 1999, addresses…

Marketing Need-Based Financial Aid Programs: An Institutional Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Knight, Mary Beth

2010-01-01

Colleges and universities represent one of the most utilized sources of need-based financial aid information for students and families, and yet most research in access marketing is focused at the national and state levels. There is sparse published information about the effects of financial aid marketing observed through quantitative analysis, in…

2008-09 Financial Aid Report

Science.gov (United States)

Nevada System of Higher Education, 2010

2010-01-01

The mission of the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) is to provide higher education services to the citizens of the State at an excellent level of quality consistent with the state's resources. The information in this report is provided by the financial aid officers at each NSHE institution. Each fall, institutions submit a detailed…

The Effect of State Financial Aid Policies on College Completion

Science.gov (United States)

Ragland, Sheri E.

2016-01-01

In 2008, state legislatures provided $6 billion in financial aid to 2 million low-income young adults. When low-income young adults receive state financial aid and do not complete college, states lose their investment because fewer people with degrees will contribute to the state's economy. Declining states' budgets have led to (a) the rising cost…

Financial Aid in Hispanic-Serving Institutions: Aligning Resources with HSI Commitments

Science.gov (United States)

Venegas, Kristan M.

2015-01-01

The purpose of this chapter is to review the literature related to Hispanic-serving institutions and financial aid. Based on this review, a framework for guiding HSIs that considers the role of financial aid in meeting the needs of Latino/a students is suggested.

Convex Hull Aided Registration Method (CHARM).

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Jingfan; Yang, Jian; Zhao, Yitian; Ai, Danni; Liu, Yonghuai; Wang, Ge; Wang, Yongtian

2017-09-01

Non-rigid registration finds many applications such as photogrammetry, motion tracking, model retrieval, and object recognition. In this paper we propose a novel convex hull aided registration method (CHARM) to match two point sets subject to a non-rigid transformation. First, two convex hulls are extracted from the source and target respectively. Then, all points of the point sets are projected onto the reference plane through each triangular facet of the hulls. From these projections, invariant features are extracted and matched optimally. The matched feature point pairs are mapped back onto the triangular facets of the convex hulls to remove outliers that are outside any relevant triangular facet. The rigid transformation from the source to the target is robustly estimated by the random sample consensus (RANSAC) scheme through minimizing the distance between the matched feature point pairs. Finally, these feature points are utilized as the control points to achieve non-rigid deformation in the form of thin-plate spline of the entire source point set towards the target one. The experimental results based on both synthetic and real data show that the proposed algorithm outperforms several state-of-the-art ones with respect to sampling, rotational angle, and data noise. In addition, the proposed CHARM algorithm also shows higher computational efficiency compared to these methods.

A Self-Instructional Course in Student Financial Aid Administration. Module 13: Verification. Second Edition.

Science.gov (United States)

Washington Consulting Group, Inc., Washington, DC.

Module 13 of the 17-module self-instructional course on student financial aid administration (designed for novice financial aid administrators and other institutional personnel) focuses on the verification procedure for checking the accuracy of applicant data used in making financial aid awards. The full course provides an introduction to the…

Hopes & Hurdles: California Foster Youth and College Financial Aid

Science.gov (United States)

Cochrane, Deborah Frankle; Szabo-Kubitz, Laura

2009-01-01

This report examines why former foster youth in California are not receiving the aid they are likely eligible for, from inadequate or poorly targeted information about college costs and financial aid to structural obstacles within the aid process and programs. While many of this report's findings and recommendations are specific to foster youth,…

A Self-Instructional Course in Student Financial Aid Administration. Module 16: Forms and Publications. Second Edition.

Science.gov (United States)

Washington Consulting Group, Inc., Washington, DC.

Module 16 (in a 17-module self-instructional course on student financial aid administration for novice financial aid administrators and other institutional personnel) discusses forms and publications that should be developed and used by the financial aid office. The full course is an introduction to the management of federal financial aid programs…

Using Financial Aid to Speed Degree Completion: A Look at MDRC's Research. Issue Focus

Science.gov (United States)

MDRC, 2016

2016-01-01

Financial aid has long been used to increase access to postsecondary education, particularly for underrepresented students. Given the size of the financial aid system and the widespread use of aid, it should also be thought of as a tool to improve academic success and postsecondary completion. Evidence suggests that using additional financial aid…

Paying for College: Trends in Student Financial Aid at Independent Colleges and Universities.

Science.gov (United States)

Thrift, Julianne Still; Toppe, Christopher M.

Sources of funds for students at private colleges are assessed, along with major changes in student financial aid during 1979-1984, based on the Student Aid Recipient Data Bank of the National Institute of Independent Colleges and Universities. A random sample of actual student financial aid records was examined in order to show how aid is…

Financial Aid and First-Year Collegiate GPA: A Regression Discontinuity Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Curs, Bradley R.; Harper, Casandra E.

2012-01-01

Using a regression discontinuity design, we investigate whether a merit-based financial aid program has a causal effect on the first-year grade point average of first-time out-of-state freshmen at the University of Oregon. Our results indicate that merit-based financial aid has a positive and significant effect on first-year collegiate grade point…

Student Financial Aid. High Risk Series.

Science.gov (United States)

General Accounting Office, Washington, DC.

This report discusses the continuing concerns of the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) in regard to the Department of Education's management and oversight of postsecondary student financial aid programs, especially the Federal Family Education Loan, the Ford Direct Loan, and the Federal Pell Grant Programs. GAO commends the department for its…

A Self-Instructional Course in Student Financial Aid Administration. Module 8: Need Analysis. Second Edition.

Science.gov (United States)

Washington Consulting Group, Inc., Washington, DC.

The eighth module in a 17-module self-instructional program on student financial aid administration (designed for novice student financial aid administrators and other personnel) focuses on need analysis. It provides an introduction to the management of federal financial aid programs authorized by the Higher Education Act Title IV. After…

Budget Cuts: Financial Aid Offices Face Budget Cuts and Increasing Workload. Quick Scan Survey Results

Science.gov (United States)

National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NJ1), 2010

2010-01-01

The majority of college financial aid offices have seen cuts to their operating budgets this year compared to the 2007-08 academic year when the recession began, according to the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrator's latest QuickScan Survey. Sixty-two percent of financial aid offices reported operating budget cuts this year…

Development of the cancer patient financial aid system and analysis of user satisfaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Joon Ho; Park, Eun-Cheol; Lee, Myung Ha; Kim, Yun-Mi; Choi, Soo Mi

2006-01-01

A financial aid program for low income cancer patients in Korea was initiated in 2005, which required a web-based system. Therefore, the Cancer Patient Financial Aid System (CPFAS) was developed. To improve the CPFAS, we evaluated the nationwide satisfaction of public health center users.

Reimagining Financial Aid to Improve Student Access and Outcomes. Executive Summary

Science.gov (United States)

National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NJ1), 2013

2013-01-01

As the student aid programs rapidly approach reauthorization in 2014, they continue to face severe funding and efficiency problems. With grant assistance from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation through their "Reimagining Aid Design and Delivery" (RADD) project, the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) examined…

Income and financial aid effects on persistence and degree attainment in public colleges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alicia C. Dowd

2004-05-01

Full Text Available This study examined the distribution of financial aid among financially dependent four-year college students and the effectiveness of different types of financial aid in promoting student persistence and timely bachelor’s degree attainment. The findings of descriptive statistical and logistic regression analyses using the NCES Beginning Postsecondary Students (1990-94 data show that subsidized loans taken in the first year of college have a positive effect on persistence. The first-year distribution of aid does not close the income gap in bachelor’s degree attainment. Living on campus and first-year grade point average are the most important predictors of timely degree completion.

Latino Associate Degree Completion: Effects of Financial Aid over Time

Science.gov (United States)

Gross, Jacob P. K.; Zerquera, Desiree; Inge, Brittany; Berry, Matthew

2014-01-01

Lack of financial resources to pay for postsecondary education--perceived and actual--has been cited as a barrier to student access and persistence, particularly for Latino students. This study investigates the following question: "To what extent does financial aid affect the educational attainment of Latinos enrolled in Associate's degree…

Information Constraints and Financial Aid Policy

OpenAIRE

Judith Scott-Clayton

2012-01-01

One justification for public support of higher education is that prospective students, particularly those from underprivileged groups, lack complete information about the costs and benefits of a college degree. Beyond financial considerations, students may also lack information about what they need to do academically to prepare for and successfully complete college. Yet until recently, college aid programs have typically paid little attention to students' information constraints, and the comp...

A Self-Instructional Course in Student Financial Aid Administration. Module 7: Calculating Cost of Attendance. Second Edition.

Science.gov (United States)

Washington Consulting Group, Inc., Washington, DC.

The seventh module in a 17-module self-instructional course on student financial aid administration (designed for novice student financial aid administrators and other personnel) teaches how to calculate the cost of attendance. It provides a systematic introduction to the management of federal financial aid programs authorized by the Higher…

The Effects of Financial Aid in High School on Academic and Labor Market Outcomes: A Quasi-Experimental Study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Humlum, Maria Knoth; Vejlin, Rune Majlund

We investigate the effects of financial aid on student employment and academic outcomes in high school. We exploit administrative differences in the amount of financial aid received based on timing of birth to identify the causal effects of interest. Specifically, individuals born early...... in a quarter receive less financial aid than comparable individuals born late in the previous quarter. We find that receiving less aid induces individuals to work more during high school. However, we do not find any evidence that receiving less financial aid and thereby working more is associated with any...

Which Cooperative Ownership Model Performs Better? A Financial-Decision Aid Approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kalogeras, N.; Pennings, J.M.E.; Benos, T.; Doumpos, M.

2013-01-01

In this article the financial/ownership structures of agribusiness cooperatives are analyzed to examine whether new cooperative models perform better than the more traditional ones. The assessment procedure introduces a new financial decision-aid approach, which is based on data-analysis techniques

Certification of Financial Aid Administrators: Is It Time to Move Forward?

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, Stacey A.

2017-01-01

Financial aid administrators administer various aspects of financial assistance programs; oversee, direct, coordinate, evaluate, and provide training for program activities and the personnel who manage office operations and supervise support staff; and ensure alignment of student and institutional needs while protecting the public interest. They…

A Self-Instructional Course in Student Financial Aid Administration. Module 17--Evaluation of Student Aid Management: Self-Evaluation, Audit, and Program Review. Second Edition.

Science.gov (United States)

Washington Consulting Group, Inc., Washington, DC.

The 17th module in the 17-module self-instructional course on student financial aid administration discusses the evaluation of student aid management in terms of self-evaluation, audit, and program review. The full course offers a systematic introduction to the management of federal financial aid programs authorized by Title IV of the Higher…

A Self-Instructional Course in Student Financial Aid Administration. Module 3: The Legislative and Regulatory Processes. Second Edition.

Science.gov (United States)

Washington Consulting Group, Inc., Washington, DC.

The third of a 17-module self-instructional course on student financial aid administration, this module offers a systematic introduction to the management of federal financial aid programs authorized by Title IV of the Higher Education Act to novice financial aid administrators and other institutional personnel. It teaches the administrator to…

A Self-Instructional Course in Student Financial Aid Administration. Module 6: General Student Eligibility. Second Edition.

Science.gov (United States)

Washington Consulting Group, Inc., Washington, DC.

Module 6 of a 17-module self-instructional course on student financial aid administration (for novice aid administrators and other personnel) presents a systematic introduction to the management of federal financial aid programs authorized by Title IV of the Higher Education Act with an emphasis on general student eligibility. Identifying the…

Perceptions of Financial Aid: Black Students at a Predominantly White Institution

Science.gov (United States)

Tichavakunda, Antar A.

2017-01-01

This study provides qualitative context for statistics concerning Black college students and financial aid. Using the financial nexus model as a framework, this research draws upon interviews with 29 Black juniors and seniors at a selective, -private, and predominantly White university. The data suggest that students -generally exhibited high…

Automatic bone detection and soft tissue aware ultrasound-CT registration for computer-aided orthopedic surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Wein, Wolfgang; Karamalis, Athanasios; Baumgartner, Adrian; Navab, Nassir

2015-06-01

The transfer of preoperative CT data into the tracking system coordinates within an operating room is of high interest for computer-aided orthopedic surgery. In this work, we introduce a solution for intra-operative ultrasound-CT registration of bones. We have developed methods for fully automatic real-time bone detection in ultrasound images and global automatic registration to CT. The bone detection algorithm uses a novel bone-specific feature descriptor and was thoroughly evaluated on both in-vivo and ex-vivo data. A global optimization strategy aligns the bone surface, followed by a soft tissue aware intensity-based registration to provide higher local registration accuracy. We evaluated the system on femur, tibia and fibula anatomy in a cadaver study with human legs, where magnetically tracked bone markers were implanted to yield ground truth information. An overall median system error of 3.7 mm was achieved on 11 datasets. Global and fully automatic registration of bones aquired with ultrasound to CT is feasible, with bone detection and tracking operating in real time for immediate feedback to the surgeon.

Guia para estudiantes: Ayuda economica, 2002-2003 (The Student Guide: Financial Aid, 2002-2003).

Science.gov (United States)

Department of Education, Washington, DC. Student Financial Assistance.

This Spanish-language publication explains what federal student financial aid is and what types of student aid are available. The introductory section, "Student Aid at a Glance," presents information about what student aid is, who gets it, and how to get it. The second section discusses "Finding out about Student Aid." The next…

A Self-Instructional Course in Student Financial Aid Administration. Module 5: Title IV Institutional and Program Eligibility. Second Edition.

Science.gov (United States)

Washington Consulting Group, Inc., Washington, DC.

The fifth module in a 17-module self-instructional course on student financial aid administration teaches novice student financial aid administrators and other personnel about Title IV institutional and program eligibility. This introduction to management of federal financial aid programs authorized by the Higher Education Act Title IV, discusses…

Cashing In or Cashing Out: Tools for Measuring the Effectiveness & Outcomes of Financial Aid Events

Science.gov (United States)

Kennedy, Brianna; Oliverez, Paz M.; Tierney, William G.

2007-01-01

Financial aid-related information and services are provided to students and families in a variety of ways. The timing of when information is shared with these groups also varies. Financial aid information is typically provided through events sponsored by high schools, colleges and universities, and multiple community and government-sponsored…

Ayuda economica: Guia para estudiantes, 2001-2002 (Financial Aid: Student Guide, 2001-2002).

Science.gov (United States)

Office of Student Financial Assistance (ED), Washington, DC.

This guide, written in Spanish, describes federal student aid programs for postsecondary education and how to apply for them. It begins by outlining sources for learning about student aid, such as school financial aid administrators, state higher education agencies, foundations, organizations related to particular fields of interest and toll-free…

Is College Financial Aid Equitable and Efficient?

OpenAIRE

Aaron S. Edlin

1993-01-01

Two families with identical earnings paths pay dramatically different amounts for college if one saves more than the other. Because saving leads to receiving less financial aid, a family's return to saving is substantially below the social return. This may lead to families making inefficient intertemporal choices and correspondingly to an inefficient loss of capital formation. This paper first explores the size of the implicit tax on savings, pointing out its potential effects, and its accomp...

An Introduction to Document Imaging in the Financial Aid Office.

Science.gov (United States)

Levy, Douglas A.

2001-01-01

First describes the components of a document imaging system in general and then addresses this technology specifically in relation to financial aid document management: its uses and benefits, considerations in choosing a document imaging system, and additional sources for information. (EV)

Smarter Spending: Reforming Federal Financial Aid for Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Gillen, Andrew

2011-01-01

In higher education, three generally recognized rationales for federal involvement in financial aid exist: (1) Promoting equality of opportunity: Those from poor households are less likely to attend college for a variety of reasons; (2) Credit market imperfections: Students may not have access to the credit needed to make profitable investments in…

The Division III Financial Aid Reporting Process: Findings and Review Results, 2005-06 through 2008-09

Science.gov (United States)

National Collegiate Athletic Association (NJ1), 2009

2009-01-01

This report marks the completion of the 2008-09 reporting cycle and the fourth year of the Division III Financial Aid Reporting Program. The report examines findings for all reporting institutions from each of the four reporting cycles, and details the outcomes of the Division III Financial Aid Committee's 2008-09 review process. Four calculations…

Early & Often: Designing a Comprehensive System of Financial Aid Information. A Report of the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance

Science.gov (United States)

Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, 2008

2008-01-01

Students and parents need ample time and accurate information to prepare for the financial burden of a college education--those who lack this knowledge base face a significant access barrier to higher education. This problem can be countered by the delivery of comprehensive, integrated financial aid information, an approach identified by the…

Is Traditional Financial Aid Too Little, Too Late to Help Youth Succeed in College? An Introduction to "The Degree Project" Promise Scholarship Experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, Douglas N.

2013-01-01

One of the key barriers in accessing postsecondary opportunities for many students is financial aid. This chapter begins by providing a review of prior evidence on the relationship between financial aid and postsecondary outcomes. One type of financial aid intervention that challenges traditional aid and scholarship options are "promise…

A Self-Instructional Course in Student Financial Aid Administration. Module 14: Authorization, Fiscal Operations, & Reporting. Second Edition.

Science.gov (United States)

Washington Consulting Group, Inc., Washington, DC.

The 14th of 17 modules in a self-instructional course on student financial aid administration (geared toward novice financial aid administrators and other institutional personnel) focuses on Pell Grants and campus-based authorization, fiscal operations, and reporting. The full course provides an introduction to the management of federal financial…

Undergraduates Who Do Not Apply for Financial Aid. Data Point. NCES 2016-406

Science.gov (United States)

Ifill, Nicole

2016-01-01

This report is based on data from the 2011-12 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:12), a large, nationally representative sample survey of students that focuses on how they finance their education. NPSAS includes data on the application for and receipt of financial aid, including grants, loans, assistantships, scholarships,…

Undocumented College Students, Taxation, and Financial Aid: A Technical Note

Science.gov (United States)

Olivas, Michael A.

2009-01-01

A surprising amount of litigation and legislation has erupted over undocumented college students. Victims at the federal level are the DREAM Act and immigration reform. Financial aid raises technical issues for undocumented college applicants and for the citizen children of undocumented parents. Generally, the undocumented are ineligible for…

Renewing and Developing the Partnership: Federal/State/Campus Cooperation in Student Financial Aid.

Science.gov (United States)

Fenske, Robert H., Ed.; Clark, Patricia L., Ed.

The proceedings of the conference are summarized, including a symposium discussion following the formal conference. Contents include: two views of the present advisory structure for student aid (The Case for Maintaining and Expanding the Coalition for the Coordination of Student Financial Aid, by Robert H. Atwell, and The Need for Developing a…

Investigating the Impact of Financial Aid on Student Dropout Risks: Racial and Ethnic Differences

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Rong; DesJardins, Stephen L.

2010-01-01

This study focuses on the differences in college student dropout behavior among racial/ethnic groups. We employ event history methods and data from the Beginning Postsecondary Students (BPS) and National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) surveys to investigate how financial aid may differentially influence dropout risks among these student…

2015-16 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:16): Student Financial Aid Estimates for 2015-16. First Look. NCES 2018-466

Science.gov (United States)

Radwin, David; Conzelmann, Johnathan G.; Nunnery, Annaliza; Lacy, T. Austin; Wu, Joanna; Lew, Stephen; Wine, Jennifer; Siegel, Peter

2018-01-01

This First Look report presents selected findings about student financial aid during the 2015-16 academic year. These findings are based on data from the 2015-16 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:16), a nationally representative sample survey of undergraduate and graduate students enrolled any time between July 1, 2015, and June 30,…

2011-12 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:12): Student Financial Aid Estimates for 2011-12. First Look. NCES 2013-165

Science.gov (United States)

Radwin, David; Wine, Jennifer; Siegel, Peter; Bryan, Michael

2013-01-01

This brief report presents selected findings about student financial aid during the 2011-12 academic year. These findings are based on data from the 2011-12 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:12), a nationally representative sample survey of undergraduate and graduate students enrolled any time between July 1, 2011, and June 30, 2012,…

Campus-Based Practices for Promoting Student Success: Financial Aid. Research Brief

Science.gov (United States)

Horn, Aaron S.; Reinert, Leah

2014-01-01

Financial aid may be particularly critical for promoting full-time enrollment, continuous enrollment, and a manageable balance of school and work responsibilities, which influence the likelihood of timely degree completion (Adelman, 2006; Attewell, Heil, & Reisel, 2012; Hossler et al., 2009). For example, Attewell, Heil, and Reisel (2012)…

State Financial Aid: Applying Redesign Principles through State Engagement. Special Report

Science.gov (United States)

Pingel, Sarah

2016-01-01

College is increasingly expensive for students, but states have an important policy tool to help defray the costs: state financial aid programs. However, many states' programs are misaligned with articulated strategic postsecondary education policy goals. Over the past two years, Education Commission of the States has supported a variety of…

Policy Analysis Implications of a Model to Improve the Delivery of Financial Aid to Disadvantaged Students. AIR 1983 Annual Forum Paper.

Science.gov (United States)

Fenske, Robert H.; Porter, John D.

The role of institutional research in policy analysis regarding the operation of a computer model for delivery of financial aid to disadvantaged students is considered. A student financial aid model at Arizona State University is designed to develop a profile of late appliers for aid funds and also those who file inaccurate or incomplete…

[International financial cooperation in the fight against AIDS in Latin America and the Caribbean].

Science.gov (United States)

Leyva-Flores, René; Castillo, José Gabriel; Serván-Mori, Edson; Ballesteros, Maria Luisa Gontes; Rodríguez, Juan Francisco Molina

2014-07-01

This study analyzed the financial contribution by the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria and its relationship to eligibility criteria for funding in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2002-2010. Descriptive analysis (linear regression) was conducted for the Global Fund financial contributions according to eligibility criteria (income level, burden of disease, governmental co-investment). Financial contributions totaled US$ 705 million. Lower-income countries received higher shares; there was no relationship between Global Fund contributions and burden of disease. The Global Fund's international financing complements governmental expenditure, with equity policies for financial allocation.

The Role of Competition and State Aid Policy in Financial and Monetary Law

OpenAIRE

Philip Marsden; Ioannis Kokkoris

2010-01-01

During the financial crisis, companies and lenders found themselves in distressed situations. Competition authorities across the globe had to deal with controversial issues such as the application of the 'failing firm' defence in merger transactions as well as assessment of emergency aid granted by states. This article considers competition policy in periods of crisis, in particular the failing firm defence in merger control and its state aid policy. Oxford University Press 2010, all rights r...

Epidemiological and Immunological Characteristics at the Time of HIV Diagnosis for HIV/AIDS Cohort Registrants Representative of HIV-Infected Populations in Korea

OpenAIRE

Lee, Jin-Hee; Kim, Seung Hyun; Wang, Jin-Sook; Sung, Kyoung Mi; Kim, Sung Soon; Kee, Mee-Kyung

2012-01-01

Objectives The Korea HIV/AIDS cohort was constructed with 18 hospitals that care for HIV-infected individuals in 2006. We compared the epidemiological and immunological characteristics of the cohort registrants with those of the HIVinfected population at the time of HIV diagnosis. Methods This study was conducted on 5717 people living with HIV/AIDS from 1985 to 2009, of which 789 individuals registered with the Korea HIV/AIDS cohort study. Individuals who had data from initial CD4+ T-cell cou...

Pathways to Career Success for Women: A Resource Guide to Colleges, Financial Aid, and Work.

Science.gov (United States)

Powley, Sherry; Sabol, Laurie

This book provides essays on career topics aimed at women and a directory of tools to help women get started or take their career to the next level. The essays topics are equal education and employment; role models, networks, and mentors for women; financial management; child care; introduction to financial aid; women's colleges and women's…

Institutional Planning: What Role for Directors of Student Admissions and Financial Aid?

Science.gov (United States)

Haines, John R.

1976-01-01

According to the director of Higher Education Management Services for the New York State Education Department, the offices of admissions and student financial aid have long been excluded from the institutional planning process. In an era of projected enrollment declines and increased competition, these offices need to assume a critical new role.…

Return on the Federal Investment in Student Financial Aid: An Assessment for the High School Class of 1972.

Science.gov (United States)

St. John, Edward P.; Masten, Charles L.

1990-01-01

It is argued that public investment in student financial aid should be evaluated based on tax revenue returns resulting from the expenditure. A model for estimating tax revenue returns from gains in educational attainment attributable to student aid is developed, and impact of aid on access and persistence is examined. (Author/MSE)

Paying for Default: Change over Time in the Share of Federal Financial Aid Sent to Institutions with High Student Loan Default Rates

Science.gov (United States)

Jaquette, Ozan; Hillman, Nicholas W.

2015-01-01

Both federal spending on financial aid and student loan default rates have increased over the past decade. These trends have intensified policymakers' concerns that some postsecondary institutions-- particularly in the for-profit sector--maximize revenue derived from federal financial aid without helping students to graduate or find employment.…

Guia para estudiantes: Ayuda economica del Departamento de Educacion de los Estados Unidos, 2003-2004 (The Student Guide: Financial Aid from the U.S. Department of Education, 2003-2004).

Science.gov (United States)

Office of Federal Student Aid (ED), Washington, DC.

This Spanish language publication explains what federal student financial aid is and the types of student financial aid that are available. The guide opens with an overview of federal student financial aid, and then discusses how to find out about student aid. A section of general information discusses eligibility and dependency. Types of federal…

Student Credit Card Debt in the 21st Century: Options for Financial Aid Administrators.

Science.gov (United States)

Oleson, Mark

2001-01-01

Provides multiple workable solutions financial aid offices can offer students throughout their college experience to deal with debt: preventive solutions for avoiding problems with credit card debt, holistic solutions for other related problems, and remedial solutions for existing problems. (EV)

[Analysis on funds application of community based organizations involved in HIV/AIDS response and government financial investment in China, 2014].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, G; Zhu, Y X; Wang, P; Liu, P; Li, J F; Sha, S; Yang, W Z; Li, H

2017-03-06

Objective: To understand the government financial investments to community based organizations (CBO) involved in HIV/AIDS Control and Prevention of China and its influencing factors. Methods: Questionnaire of the situation of CBO involved in HIV/AIDS control and prevention were designed, and filled by the staff of Provincial Health Administrative Departments of 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities). The research focused on the fields of CBO involved in HIV/AIDS response in 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities), including intervention on HIV/AIDS high risk population (female sex worker (FSW), man who sex with man (MSM), drug user (DU) and case management and care for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH)). 29 valid questionnaires were collecting, with Shanxi Province and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Regions not filled. Questionnaire included financial supports from local governments, transfer payment from central government for CBO involved in HIV/AIDS response in 2014, and unit cost for CBO involved in HIV/AIDS control and prevention. Multivariate analysis was conducted on the project application and financial investment of community based organizations involved in HIV/AIDS control and prevention in 2014. Results: The total amount of CBO to apply for participation in AIDS prevention and control was 64 482 828 Yuan in 2014. The actual total amount of investment was 50 616 367 Yuan, The investment came from the central government funding, the provincial level government funding, the prefecture and county level government funding investment and other sources of funding. 22 of 28 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) received the funds from the central government finance, and median of investment funds 500 000 Yuan. 15 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) gained the funds from the provincial government finance, and median of investment funds 350 000 Yuan. 12 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) got the funds

17 CFR 240.15d-2 - Special financial report.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Special financial report. 240....15d-2 Special financial report. (a) If the registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933 did... registration statement, file a special report furnishing certified financial statements for such last full...

WWC Review of the Report "Freshman Year Financial Aid Nudges: An Experiment to Increase FAFSA Renewal and College Persistence." What Works Clearinghouse Single Study Review

Science.gov (United States)

What Works Clearinghouse, 2014

2014-01-01

The 2014 study, Freshman Year Financial Aid Nudges: An Experiment to Increase FAFSA Renewal and College Persistence, measured the impact of sending text message reminders regarding annual Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) renewal to first-year college students who were already receiving financial aid. The study sample included 808…

Volunteering for College? Potential Implications of Financial Aid Tax Credits Rewarding Community Service

Science.gov (United States)

Wells, Ryan S.; Lynch, Cassie M.

2014-01-01

President Obama has proposed a financial aid policy whereby students who complete 100 hours of community service would receive a tax credit of US$4,000 for college. After lawmakers cut this proposal from previous legislation, the administration was tasked with studying the feasibility of implementation. However, the implications of the policy for…

Image Registration of Cone-Beam Computer Tomography and Preprocedural Computer Tomography Aids in Localization of Adrenal Veins and Decreasing Radiation Dose in Adrenal Vein Sampling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Busser, Wendy M. H., E-mail: wendy.busser@radboudumc.nl; Arntz, Mark J.; Jenniskens, Sjoerd F. M. [Radboud University Medical Center, Department of Radiology, Section of Interventional Radiology (Netherlands); Deinum, Jaap [Radboud University Medical Center, Department of General Internal Medicine (Netherlands); Hoogeveen, Yvonne L.; Lange, Frank de; Schultze Kool, Leo J. [Radboud University Medical Center, Department of Radiology, Section of Interventional Radiology (Netherlands)

2015-08-15

PurposeWe assessed whether image registration of cone-beam computed tomography (CT) (CBCT) and contrast-enhanced CT (CE-CT) images indicating the locations of the adrenal veins can aid in increasing the success rate of first-attempts adrenal vein sampling (AVS) and therefore decreasing patient radiation dose.Materials and Methods CBCT scans were acquired in the interventional suite (Philips Allura Xper FD20) and rigidly registered to the vertebra in previously acquired CE-CT. Adrenal vein locations were marked on the CT image and superimposed with live fluoroscopy and digital-subtraction angiography (DSA) to guide the AVS. Seventeen first attempts at AVS were performed with image registration and retrospectively compared with 15 first attempts without image registration performed earlier by the same 2 interventional radiologists. First-attempt AVS was considered successful when both adrenal vein samples showed representative cortisol levels. Sampling time, dose-area product (DAP), number of DSA runs, fluoroscopy time, and skin dose were recorded.ResultsWithout image registration, the first attempt at sampling was successful in 8 of 15 procedures indicating a success rate of 53.3 %. This increased to 76.5 % (13 of 17) by adding CBCT and CE-CT image registration to AVS procedures (p = 0.266). DAP values (p = 0.001) and DSA runs (p = 0.026) decreased significantly by adding image registration guidance. Sampling and fluoroscopy times and skin dose showed no significant changes.ConclusionGuidance based on registration of CBCT and previously acquired diagnostic CE-CT can aid in enhancing localization of the adrenal veins thereby increasing the success rate of first-attempt AVS with a significant decrease in the number of used DSA runs and, consequently, radiation dose required.

The Effects of Financial Aid Policies on Student Persistence in Taiwanese Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Ching-Hui

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of financial aid policies on student persistence between the first and second year at a private four-year postsecondary institution in Taiwan. A two-phase sequential research design was employed with priority was given to the quantitative data--structural equation modeling (SEM). While the…

Examining the Effects of Financial Aid on Student Persistence in Taiwanese Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Ching-Hui

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of financial aid policies on student persistence between the first and second year at a private four-year postsecondary institution in Taiwan. A two-phase sequential research design was employed with priority was given to the quantitative data-structural equation modeling (SEM). While the…

"MedTRIS" (Medical Triage and Registration Informatics System): A Web-based Client Server System for the Registration of Patients Being Treated in First Aid Posts at Public Events and Mass Gatherings.

Science.gov (United States)

Gogaert, Stefan; Vande Veegaete, Axel; Scholliers, Annelies; Vandekerckhove, Philippe

2016-10-01

First aid (FA) services are provisioned on-site as a preventive measure at most public events. In Flanders, Belgium, the Belgian Red Cross-Flanders (BRCF) is the major provider of these FA services with volunteers being deployed at approximately 10,000 public events annually. The BRCF has systematically registered information on the patients being treated in FA posts at major events and mass gatherings during the last 10 years. This information has been collected in a web-based client server system called "MedTRIS" (Medical Triage and Registration Informatics System). MedTRIS contains data on more than 200,000 patients at 335 mass events. This report describes the MedTRIS architecture, the data collected, and how the system operates in the field. This database consolidates different types of information with regards to FA interventions in a standardized way for a variety of public events. MedTRIS allows close monitoring in "real time" of the situation at mass gatherings and immediate intervention, when necessary; allows more accurate prediction of resources needed; allows to validate conceptual and predictive models for medical resources at (mass) public events; and can contribute to the definition of a standardized minimum data set (MDS) for mass-gathering health research and evaluation. Gogaert S , Vande veegaete A , Scholliers A , Vandekerckhove P . "MedTRIS" (Medical Triage and Registration Informatics System): a web-based client server system for the registration of patients being treated in first aid posts at public events and mass gatherings. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2016;31(5):557-562.

College Financial Aid and the Employee Tuition Benefit Programs of the Fortune 500 Companies.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Neill, Joseph P.

Ways are discussed that internal changes in pricing, tuition collection, and cash-flow management might be sources of financial aid for college students ineligible for state and federal assistance programs. The experiences described are the result of two FIPSE (Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education) projects, one dealing with…

Fact Sheet: LGBT Discrimination in Higher Education Financial Aid--Assistance Should Be Allocated on Need, Not Sexual Orientation

Science.gov (United States)

Burns, Crosby

2012-01-01

Through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, the federal government provides more financial aid for higher education than any other institution. But because of discriminatory laws the FAFSA treats families headed by two mothers or two fathers differently than families headed by a mother and a father. This treatment distributes…

Is traditional financial aid too little, too late to help youth succeed in college? An introduction to The Degree Project promise scholarship experiment.

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, Douglas N

2013-01-01

One of the key barriers in accessing postsecondary opportunities for many students is financial aid. This chapter begins by providing a review of prior evidence on the relationship between financial aid and postsecondary outcomes. One type of financial aid intervention that challenges traditional aid and scholarship options are "promise programs." These programs make commitments to low-income students when they are much younger than when students typically apply for aid and have the potential to encourage students to better prepare during high school, develop the social capital they need to navigate the path to college, and pay for growing college costs. In this chapter, the author describes the design and rationale for The Degree Project (TDP), which is the first randomized trial of a promise scholarship in the United States. In addition to the important new evidence the demonstration program will generate, TDP also shows how educators and researchers can work together to provide the insight and answers policy makers need to address very real education gaps. © WILEY PERIODICALS, INC.

Low-Income Urban High School Students' Use of the Internet to Access Financial Aid

Science.gov (United States)

Venegas, Kristan M.

2006-01-01

This article focuses on the Web-based resources available to low-income students as they build their perceptions, make their decisions, and engage in financial aid activities. Data are gathered from the results of six focus groups with low-income high school students attending urban high schools. Findings suggest that low-income students do have…

Undergraduates with Employer-Sponsored Aid: Comparing Group Differences

Science.gov (United States)

Faulk, Dagney G.; Wang, Zhenlei

2014-01-01

Tuition assistance offered by employers is an understudied area of financial aid research. The purpose of this study is to compare the demographic, socioeconomic, academic and financial aid characteristics of college students who receive employer-sponsored financial aid with students who receive traditional financial aid (institutional, state, or…

Estimating Effective Subsidy Rates of Student Aid Programs

OpenAIRE

Stacey H. CHEN

2008-01-01

Every year millions of high school students and their parents in the US are asked to fill out complicated financial aid application forms. However, few studies have estimated the responsiveness of government financial aid schemes to changes in financial needs of the students. This paper identifies the effective subsidy rate (ESR) of student aid, as defined by the coefficient of financial needs in the regression of financial aid. The ESR measures the proportion of subsidy of student aid under ...

Aid in the detection of myocardial perfusion abnormality utilizing SPECT atlas and images registration: preliminary results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Padua, Rodrigo Donizete Santana de; Oliveira, Lucas Ferrari de; Marques, Paulo Mazzoncini de Azevedo; Groote, Jean-Jacques Georges Soares de; Castro, Adelson Antonio de; Ana, Lauro Wichert; Simoes, Marcus Vinicius

2008-01-01

To develop an atlas of myocardial perfusion scintigraphy and evaluating its applicability in computer-aided detection of myocardial perfusion defects in patients with ischemic heart disease. The atlas was created with rest-stress myocardial perfusion scintigraphic images of 20 patients of both genders with low probability of coronary artery disease and considered as normal by two experienced observers. Techniques of image registration and mathematical operations on images were utilized for obtaining template images depicting mean myocardial uptake and standard deviation for each gender and physiological condition. Myocardial perfusion scintigraphy images of one male and one female patient were aligned with the corresponding atlas template image, and voxels with myocardial uptake rates two standard deviations below the mean voxel value of the respective region in the atlas template image were highlighted on the tomographic sections and confirmed as perfusion defects by both observe. The present study demonstrated the creation of an atlas of myocardial perfusion scintigraphy with promising results of this tool as an aid in the detection of myocardial perfusion defects. However, further prospective validation with a more representative sample is recommended. (author)

Aid in the detection of myocardial perfusion abnormality utilizing SPECT atlas and images registration: preliminary results

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Padua, Rodrigo Donizete Santana de [Universidade de Sao Paulo (USP), Ribeirao Preto, SP (Brazil). Faculdade de Medicina. Div. de Cardiologia]. E-mail: rodrigo_dsp@hcrp.fmrp.usp.br; Oliveira, Lucas Ferrari de [Universidade Federal de Pelotas (UFPel), RS (Brazil). Inst. de Fisica e Matematica. Dept. de Tecnologia da Informacao; Marques, Paulo Mazzoncini de Azevedo [Universidade de Sao Paulo (USP), Ribeirao Preto, SP (Brazil). Faculdade de Medicina. Centro de Ciencias das Imagens e Fisica Medica; Groote, Jean-Jacques Georges Soares de [Instituto de Ensino Superior COC, Ribeirao Preto, SP (Brazil). Lab. of Artifical Intelligence and Applications; Castro, Adelson Antonio de [Universidade de Sao Paulo (USP), Ribeirao Preto, SP, (Brazil). Faculdade de Medicina; Ana, Lauro Wichert [Universidade de Sao Paulo (USP), Ribeirao Preto, SP (Brazil). Faculdade de Medicina. Centro de Ciencias das Imagens e Fisica Medica; Simoes, Marcus Vinicius [Universidade de Sao Paulo (USP), Ribeirao Preto, SP, (Brazil). Faculdade de Medicina. Divisao de Cardiologia

2008-11-15

To develop an atlas of myocardial perfusion scintigraphy and evaluating its applicability in computer-aided detection of myocardial perfusion defects in patients with ischemic heart disease. The atlas was created with rest-stress myocardial perfusion scintigraphic images of 20 patients of both genders with low probability of coronary artery disease and considered as normal by two experienced observers. Techniques of image registration and mathematical operations on images were utilized for obtaining template images depicting mean myocardial uptake and standard deviation for each gender and physiological condition. Myocardial perfusion scintigraphy images of one male and one female patient were aligned with the corresponding atlas template image, and voxels with myocardial uptake rates two standard deviations below the mean voxel value of the respective region in the atlas template image were highlighted on the tomographic sections and confirmed as perfusion defects by both observe. The present study demonstrated the creation of an atlas of myocardial perfusion scintigraphy with promising results of this tool as an aid in the detection of myocardial perfusion defects. However, further prospective validation with a more representative sample is recommended. (author)

17 CFR 240.15b6-1 - Withdrawal from registration.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... Registration Depository (operated by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.) in accordance with...) to update any inaccurate information. (b) A notice of withdrawal from registration filed by a broker... public interest or for the protection of investors, or within such shorter period of time as the...

Guideline concerning financial aid by the state to '250 MW wind' wind power plants within the framework of the third programme 'Energy research and energy technologies'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-01-01

An industrial-scale wind power experiment will receive financial aid for several years. An installed power of 250 MW is to be reached within a 5-year period if possible. The BMFT will grant financial aid on a per kWh basis up to a maximum sum, or - if desired by certain applicants - in the form of an investment aid, both for a maximum period of 10 years from the start-up of the wind power plant. The BMFT will also finance a scientific programme for measurement and evaluation. (orig.) [de

Image calibration and registration in cone-beam computed tomogram for measuring the accuracy of computer-aided implant surgery

Science.gov (United States)

Lam, Walter Y. H.; Ngan, Henry Y. T.; Wat, Peter Y. P.; Luk, Henry W. K.; Goto, Tazuko K.; Pow, Edmond H. N.

2015-02-01

Medical radiography is the use of radiation to "see through" a human body without breaching its integrity (surface). With computed tomography (CT)/cone beam computed tomography (CBCT), three-dimensional (3D) imaging can be produced. These imagings not only facilitate disease diagnosis but also enable computer-aided surgical planning/navigation. In dentistry, the common method for transfer of the virtual surgical planning to the patient (reality) is the use of surgical stent either with a preloaded planning (static) like a channel or a real time surgical navigation (dynamic) after registration with fiducial markers (RF). This paper describes using the corner of a cube as a radiopaque fiducial marker on an acrylic (plastic) stent, this RF allows robust calibration and registration of Cartesian (x, y, z)- coordinates for linking up the patient (reality) and the imaging (virtuality) and hence the surgical planning can be transferred in either static or dynamic way. The accuracy of computer-aided implant surgery was measured with reference to coordinates. In our preliminary model surgery, a dental implant was planned virtually and placed with preloaded surgical guide. The deviation of the placed implant apex from the planning was x=+0.56mm [more right], y=- 0.05mm [deeper], z=-0.26mm [more lingual]) which was within clinically 2mm safety range. For comparison with the virtual planning, the physically placed implant was CT/CBCT scanned and errors may be introduced. The difference of the actual implant apex to the virtual apex was x=0.00mm, y=+0.21mm [shallower], z=-1.35mm [more lingual] and this should be brought in mind when interpret the results.

Co-registration of optical coherence tomography and X-ray angiography in percutaneous coronary intervention

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hebsgaard, Lasse; Nielsen, Troels Munck; Tu, Shengxian

2014-01-01

Background Intracoronary imaging provides accurate lesion delineation and precise measurements for sizing and positioning of coronary stents. During percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), it may be challenging to identify corresponding segments between intracoronary imaging and angiography....... Computer based online co-registration may aid the target segment identification. Methods The DOCTOR fusion study was a prospective, single arm, observational study including patients admitted for elective PCI. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) was acquired pre-stent implantation for sizing of stents...... to the computer-based co-registration, segments of the target lesion indicated on OCT were left uncovered by stent in 14 patients (70%). Conclusion Computer based online co-registration of OCT and angiography is feasible. Frequent inaccuracies in operator based registration indicate that computer aided co...

Who Does Not Benefit from Federal and State Financial Aid Programs? Information Brief. Volume 7, Issue 3

Science.gov (United States)

Florida Board of Governors, State University System, 2009

2009-01-01

This brief presents statistics showing that many students from middle-income and lower-income Florida families do not qualify for federal or state grants and scholarships, and that nearly half of state university system middle- and lower-income families do not receive benefits from federal or state financial aid programs. (Contains technical…

Como preparar un programa de informacion sobre la asistencia economica (Planning a Financial Aid Awareness Program).

Science.gov (United States)

Department of Education, Washington, DC.

This booklet, written in Spanish, is intended to be used with a set of slides as part of a presentation to students on "How To Apply for Federal Student Aid" ("Como Solicitar la Asistencia Economica Federal para Estudiantes"). The first part of the book is a script based on the slides. After the script is a guide to hosting a financial aid…

First aid training in pre-registration nurse education.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Phillippa

This article aims to increase awareness of the lack of first aid skills among nurses and midwives. It is intended to appeal to and challenge students and registered practitioners to assess their first aid skills in practice and to seek the necessary training to improve and update their skills.

17 CFR 210.12-04 - Condensed financial information of registrant.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... and for the same periods for which audited consolidated financial statements are required. The... EXCHANGE COMMISSION FORM AND CONTENT OF AND REQUIREMENTS FOR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, SECURITIES ACT OF 1933... with complete financial statements may be omitted with the exception of disclosures regarding material...

The Blue Book: Accounting, Recordkeeping, and Reporting by Postsecondary Educational Institutions for Federally Funded Student Financial Aid Programs.

Science.gov (United States)

Department of Education, Washington, DC.

This book provides guidance to school business office personnel who handle fiscal recordkeeping, accounting, and reporting functions for federal Title IV student financial aid programs authorized by the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended. It provides a technical resource for Title IV management responsibilities that are shared among various…

Annual Report on State Financial Aid Programs: 2007-08 Accounting, 2008-09 Estimates, and Notable Events and Activities

Science.gov (United States)

Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board, 2009

2009-01-01

The state of Washington has a long-standing commitment to postsecondary education opportunities for all students, regardless of income. The purpose of this report is to provide the members of the Higher Education Coordinating Board with: (1) An overview of state, federal, and institutional financial aid in Washington; (2) A description of notable…

Exploring the Relationship between State Financial Aid Policy and Postsecondary Enrollment Choices: A Focus on Income and Race Differences

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jiyun

2012-01-01

This study explores the relationship between state financial aid policies and postsecondary enrollment for high school graduates (or equivalent diploma holders). Utilizing an event history modeling for a nationally representative sample from the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS:88/2000) in addition to state-level policy variables, this…

40 CFR 152.135 - Transfer of registration.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

..., spinoff, bankruptcy transfer (no financial information need be disclosed); (7) A statement that the transferor and transferee understand that any false statement may be punishable under 18 U.S.C. 1001; and (8...) The name(s) and EPA registration number(s) of the product(s) being transferred; (4) A statement that...

Developing clinical strength-of-evidence approach to define HIV-associated malignancies for cancer registration in Kenya.

Science.gov (United States)

Korir, Anne; Mauti, Nathan; Moats, Pamela; Gurka, Matthew J; Mutuma, Geoffrey; Metheny, Christine; Mwamba, Peter M; Oyiro, Peter O; Fisher, Melanie; Ayers, Leona W; Rochford, Rosemary; Mwanda, Walter O; Remick, Scot C

2014-01-01

Sub-Saharan Africa cancer registries are beset by an increasing cancer burden further exacerbated by the AIDS epidemic where there are limited capabilities for cancer-AIDS match co-registration. We undertook a pilot study based on a "strength-of-evidence" approach using clinical data that is abstracted at the time of cancer registration for purposes of linking cancer diagnosis to AIDS diagnosis. The standard Nairobi Cancer Registry form was modified for registrars to abstract the following clinical data from medical records regarding HIV infection/AIDS in a hierarchal approach at time of cancer registration from highest-to-lowest strength-of-evidence: 1) documentation of positive HIV serology; 2) antiretroviral drug prescription; 3) CD4+ lymphocyte count; and 4) WHO HIV clinical stage or immune suppression syndrome (ISS), which is Kenyan terminology for AIDS. Between August 1 and October 31, 2011 a total of 1,200 cancer cases were registered. Of these, 171 cases (14.3%) met clinical strength-of-evidence criteria for association with HIV infection/AIDS; 69% (118 cases were tumor types with known HIV association - Kaposi's sarcoma, cervical cancer, non-Hodgkin's and Hodgkin's lymphoma, and conjunctiva carcinoma) and 31% (53) were consistent with non-AIDS defining cancers. Verifiable positive HIV serology was identified in 47 (27%) cases for an absolute seroprevalence rate of 4% among the cancer registered cases with an upper boundary of 14% among those meeting at least one of strength-of-evidence criteria. This pilot demonstration of a hierarchal, clinical strength-of-evidence approach for cancer-AIDS registration in Kenya establishes feasibility, is readily adaptable, pragmatic, and does not require additional resources for critically under staffed cancer registries. Cancer is an emerging public health challenge, and African nations need to develop well designed population-based studies in order to better define the impact and spectrum of malignant disease in the

Global health and national borders: the ethics of foreign aid in a time of financial crisis.

Science.gov (United States)

Johri, Mira; Chung, Ryoa; Dawson, Angus; Schrecker, Ted

2012-06-28

The governments and citizens of the developed nations are increasingly called upon to contribute financially to health initiatives outside their borders. Although international development assistance for health has grown rapidly over the last two decades, austerity measures related to the 2008 and 2011 global financial crises may impact negatively on aid expenditures. The competition between national priorities and foreign aid commitments raises important ethical questions for donor nations. This paper aims to foster individual reflection and public debate on donor responsibilities for global health. We undertook a critical review of contemporary accounts of justice. We selected theories that: (i) articulate important and widely held moral intuitions; (ii) have had extensive impact on debates about global justice; (iii) represent diverse approaches to moral reasoning; and (iv) present distinct stances on the normative importance of national borders. Due to space limitations we limit the discussion to four frameworks. Consequentialist, relational, human rights, and social contract approaches were considered. Responsibilities to provide international assistance were seen as significant by all four theories and place limits on the scope of acceptable national autonomy. Among the range of potential aid foci, interventions for health enjoyed consistent prominence. The four theories concur that there are important ethical responsibilities to support initiatives to improve the health of the worst off worldwide, but offer different rationales for intervention and suggest different implicit limits on responsibilities. Despite significant theoretical disagreements, four influential accounts of justice offer important reasons to support many current initiatives to promote global health. Ethical argumentation can complement pragmatic reasons to support global health interventions and provide an important foundation to strengthen collective action.

Global health and national borders: the ethics of foreign aid in a time of financial crisis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Johri Mira

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The governments and citizens of the developed nations are increasingly called upon to contribute financially to health initiatives outside their borders. Although international development assistance for health has grown rapidly over the last two decades, austerity measures related to the 2008 and 2011 global financial crises may impact negatively on aid expenditures. The competition between national priorities and foreign aid commitments raises important ethical questions for donor nations. This paper aims to foster individual reflection and public debate on donor responsibilities for global health. Methods We undertook a critical review of contemporary accounts of justice. We selected theories that: (i articulate important and widely held moral intuitions; (ii have had extensive impact on debates about global justice; (iii represent diverse approaches to moral reasoning; and (iv present distinct stances on the normative importance of national borders. Due to space limitations we limit the discussion to four frameworks. Results Consequentialist, relational, human rights, and social contract approaches were considered. Responsibilities to provide international assistance were seen as significant by all four theories and place limits on the scope of acceptable national autonomy. Among the range of potential aid foci, interventions for health enjoyed consistent prominence. The four theories concur that there are important ethical responsibilities to support initiatives to improve the health of the worst off worldwide, but offer different rationales for intervention and suggest different implicit limits on responsibilities. Conclusions Despite significant theoretical disagreements, four influential accounts of justice offer important reasons to support many current initiatives to promote global health. Ethical argumentation can complement pragmatic reasons to support global health interventions and provide an important

17 CFR 229.308 - (Item 308) Internal control over financial reporting.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... over financial reporting. 229.308 Section 229.308 Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND... § 229.308 (Item 308) Internal control over financial reporting. (a) Management's annual report on internal control over financial reporting. Provide a report of management on the registrant's internal...

The Blue Book. Accounting, Recordkeeping, and Reporting by Postsecondary Educational Institutions for Federally Funded Student Financial Aid Programs. [1999 Edition.

Science.gov (United States)

Department of Education, Washington, DC.

This guide is intended to provide guidance to college and university business office personnel who handle recordkeeping, accounting, and other fiscal reporting functions for federal Title IV financial aid programs, as authorized by the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended. This edition emphasizes the benefits and challenges of electronic…

Erecting a Sturdy Financial Structure.

Science.gov (United States)

West, Jeffrey J.

1998-01-01

Explanation of the technological setting in which college and university financial systems have developed is provided for financial officers, to aid in devising a plan for the chart of accounts and erecting an efficient, logical, flexible financial structure. Topics include software/hardware advances, understanding the demand for financial…

Quality Assurance of Serial 3D Image Registration, Fusion, and Segmentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharpe, Michael; Brock, Kristy K.

2008-01-01

Radiotherapy relies on images to plan, guide, and assess treatment. Image registration, fusion, and segmentation are integral to these processes; specifically for aiding anatomic delineation, assessing organ motion, and aligning targets with treatment beams in image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT). Future developments in image registration will also improve estimations of the actual dose delivered and quantitative assessment in patient follow-up exams. This article summarizes common and emerging technologies and reviews the role of image registration, fusion, and segmentation in radiotherapy processes. The current quality assurance practices are summarized, and implications for clinical procedures are discussed

75 FR 76260 - Conforming Changes to Applicant Submission Requirements; Implementing Federal Financial Report...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-12-08

... HUD regulations to reference the new governmentwide Federal Financial Report (FFR) approved by the... task of filing required financial reports. Similarly, CCR registration has been required of applicants...] RIN 2501-AD50 Conforming Changes to Applicant Submission Requirements; Implementing Federal Financial...

Developing clinical strength-of-evidence approach to define HIV-associated malignancies for cancer registration in Kenya.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anne Korir

Full Text Available Sub-Saharan Africa cancer registries are beset by an increasing cancer burden further exacerbated by the AIDS epidemic where there are limited capabilities for cancer-AIDS match co-registration. We undertook a pilot study based on a "strength-of-evidence" approach using clinical data that is abstracted at the time of cancer registration for purposes of linking cancer diagnosis to AIDS diagnosis.The standard Nairobi Cancer Registry form was modified for registrars to abstract the following clinical data from medical records regarding HIV infection/AIDS in a hierarchal approach at time of cancer registration from highest-to-lowest strength-of-evidence: 1 documentation of positive HIV serology; 2 antiretroviral drug prescription; 3 CD4+ lymphocyte count; and 4 WHO HIV clinical stage or immune suppression syndrome (ISS, which is Kenyan terminology for AIDS. Between August 1 and October 31, 2011 a total of 1,200 cancer cases were registered. Of these, 171 cases (14.3% met clinical strength-of-evidence criteria for association with HIV infection/AIDS; 69% (118 cases were tumor types with known HIV association - Kaposi's sarcoma, cervical cancer, non-Hodgkin's and Hodgkin's lymphoma, and conjunctiva carcinoma and 31% (53 were consistent with non-AIDS defining cancers. Verifiable positive HIV serology was identified in 47 (27% cases for an absolute seroprevalence rate of 4% among the cancer registered cases with an upper boundary of 14% among those meeting at least one of strength-of-evidence criteria.This pilot demonstration of a hierarchal, clinical strength-of-evidence approach for cancer-AIDS registration in Kenya establishes feasibility, is readily adaptable, pragmatic, and does not require additional resources for critically under staffed cancer registries. Cancer is an emerging public health challenge, and African nations need to develop well designed population-based studies in order to better define the impact and spectrum of malignant disease

Automated Student Aid Processing: The Challenge and Opportunity.

Science.gov (United States)

St. John, Edward P.

1985-01-01

To utilize automated technology for student aid processing, it is necessary to work with multi-institutional offices (student aid, admissions, registration, and business) and to develop automated interfaces with external processing systems at state and federal agencies and perhaps at need-analysis organizations and lenders. (MLW)

Deformable Registration for Longitudinal Breast MRI Screening.

Science.gov (United States)

Mehrabian, Hatef; Richmond, Lara; Lu, Yingli; Martel, Anne L

2018-04-13

MRI screening of high-risk patients for breast cancer provides very high sensitivity, but with a high recall rate and negative biopsies. Comparing the current exam to prior exams reduces the number of follow-up procedures requested by radiologists. Such comparison, however, can be challenging due to the highly deformable nature of breast tissues. Automated co-registration of multiple scans has the potential to aid diagnosis by providing 3D images for side-by-side comparison and also for use in CAD systems. Although many deformable registration techniques exist, they generally have a large number of parameters that need to be optimized and validated for each new application. Here, we propose a framework for such optimization and also identify the optimal input parameter set for registration of 3D T 1 -weighted MRI of breast using Elastix, a widely used and freely available registration tool. A numerical simulation study was first conducted to model the breast tissue and its deformation through finite element (FE) modeling. This model generated the ground truth for evaluating the registration accuracy by providing the deformation of each voxel in the breast volume. An exhaustive search was performed over various values of 7 registration parameters (4050 different combinations of parameters were assessed) and the optimum parameter set was determined. This study showed that there was a large variation in the registration accuracy of different parameter sets ranging from 0.29 mm to 2.50 mm in median registration error and 3.71 mm to 8.90 mm in 95 percentile of the registration error. Mean registration errors of 0.32 mm, 0.29 mm, and 0.30 mm and 95 percentile errors of 3.71 mm, 5.02 mm, and 4.70 mm were obtained by the three best parameter sets. The optimal parameter set was applied to consecutive breast MRI scans of 13 patients. A radiologist identified 113 landmark pairs (~ 11 per patient) which were used to assess registration accuracy. The results demonstrated that

Challenging an immediate suspension of a DEA registration: is it time for a new tact?

Science.gov (United States)

Behr, Douglas J

2014-01-01

A Drug Enforcement Administration ("DEA") registration is not only a necessity, but also an invaluable commodity for doctors, pharmacists, hospitals and drug wholesalers who prescribe, stock, and distribute controlled substances. While the DEA may only suspend a registration by issuing an immediate suspension order ("ISO) after an ex parte finding of "imminent danger to the public health or safety," the law fails to explicitly protect the registrant by way of a post-suspension hearing on the ISO, despite the registrant's constitutionally protected property interest in the registration. A registrant has only two procedural options--which are often unsuccessful--to challenge the ISO: endure a long and arduous administrative review proceeding or petition the court for a "not-so-easily proven" injunction, all the while the suspension remains in effect and the controlled substance business operations cease. Accordingly, a suspension of the registration may be certain death to doctors and pharmacists without the financial means to operate the business in the absence of the registration. Because the DEA registration is a constitutionally-protected interest, there is a better way to challenge the suspension. The Supreme Court has held that once a license is issued, the continued possession of it is essential to the registrant's livelihood. Therefore suspension or revocation of such a protected interest requires due process. Due-process hearings, while varied, will provide the necessary avenues of review to provide a fair review of the justification of the suspension and its continuance, i.e., whether there truly is imminent danger to public health or safety and whether the suspension is overbroad and should be limited. To date, this thesis remains to be tested and awaits a petitioner with a justiciable claim and the financial resources to challenge the DEA in court. But in the field of DEA ISO challenges, it is time for a new tact!

HIV / AIDS

Science.gov (United States)

... Relations Cyber Infrastructure Computational Biology Equal Employment Opportunity Ethics Global Research Office of Mission Integration and Financial Management Strategic Planning Workforce Effectiveness Workplace Solutions Technology Transfer Intellectual Property Division of AIDS ...

An Optimization Model for the Allocation of University Based Merit Aid

Science.gov (United States)

Sugrue, Paul K.

2010-01-01

The allocation of merit-based financial aid during the college admissions process presents postsecondary institutions with complex and financially expensive decisions. This article describes the application of linear programming as a decision tool in merit based financial aid decisions at a medium size private university. The objective defined for…

Financial Aid for the Rehabilitation of Individuals with Spinal Cord Injuries in Bangladesh

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ilias Mahmud

2012-08-01

Full Text Available In Bangladesh, a majority of individuals with spinal cord injuries (SCI are either poor or very poor. In most cases, their families undergo extreme hardship as they lose the income of the only or main earning member, and are unable to bear costs of rehabilitation.Purpose: This mixed method study explored perspectives of individuals with SCI regarding financial aid in the form of interest-free loans for their treatment and rehabilitation at the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP.Method: In the first part of the study, 10 semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted. In the second part of the study, 40 persons with SCI were surveyed. The qualitative method involved selection of respondents according to their age, sex and severity of disability. Quantitative interviews were conducted with all persons with SCI in the final stage of hospital rehabilitation, in the third quarter of 2008. Results: Though CRP provides financial support depending on the individual’s economic status, many persons with SCI needed additional funding from multiple sources, such as savings (42.5%, mortgaging assets (12.5%, selling assets (45%, receiving loans (37.5%, begging for money (42.5%, and receiving donations from relatives (47.5% or the community (30%, to meet the direct and indirect costs of rehabilitation. Majority (85% of those interviewed wanted to receive financial aid in the form of interest-free loans. 76.4% of them wanted the loans to be disbursed in two phases; initially, to offset some of their costs during rehabilitation at CRP, and thereafter, for economic reintegration in their community. The remaining 23.6% wanted the loan only for vocational reintegration. 70.59% of those interviewed proposed repayment in monthly instalments, while 17.64% suggested quarterly instalments and 11.76% favoured annual instalments. Over half of the participants (55.88% wanted to have vocational training, and the rest wanted vocational training for

17 CFR 229.308T - (Item 308T) Internal control over financial reporting.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... over financial reporting. 229.308T Section 229.308T Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND... § 229.308T (Item 308T) Internal control over financial reporting. Note to Item 308T: This is a special... internal control over financial reporting. Provide a report of management on the registrant's internal...

The Vital Role of Administrative Cost Allowances to Student Financial Aid Offices: Key Findings from NASFAA's Administrative Cost Allowance Survey, July 2011

Science.gov (United States)

National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NJ1), 2011

2011-01-01

The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) recently conducted a survey on the 2009-10 award year Administrative Cost Allowances (ACA), which are funds used by colleges and universities to support operations and professional development. Specifically, ACA is often used in essential areas that support the day-to-day…

14 CFR 152.303 - Financial management system.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Financial management system. 152.303... (CONTINUED) AIRPORTS AIRPORT AID PROGRAM Accounting and Reporting Requirements § 152.303 Financial management system. Each sponsor or planning agency shall establish and maintain a financial management system that...

7 CFR 15b.37 - Auxiliary aids.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Auxiliary aids. 15b.37 Section 15b.37 Agriculture... ACTIVITIES RECEIVING FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE Other Aid, Benefits, or Services § 15b.37 Auxiliary aids... appropriate auxiliary aids to persons with impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills, where necessary to...

HIV/AIDS Treatment

Science.gov (United States)

... Relations Cyber Infrastructure Computational Biology Equal Employment Opportunity Ethics Global Research Office of Mission Integration and Financial Management Strategic Planning Workforce Effectiveness Workplace Solutions Technology Transfer Intellectual Property Division of AIDS ...

Is the Ownership Structure Model a Decisive Determinant of Co-Operatives' Financial Success? A Financial Assessment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kalogeras, N.; Pennings, J.M.E.; Kuikman, J.; Doumpos, M.

2011-01-01

Abstract. In this paper, the financial/ownership structures of agribusiness co-operatives (co-ops) are analyzed in order to examine whether new co-op models perform better than the more traditional ones. The assessment procedure introduces a new financial decision-aid approach, which is based on

Information and Networks Working Paper: Aiding surveillance ...

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

2014-12-01

Dec 1, 2014 ... Information technology transfer is increasingly a key component of development and humanitarian aid initiatives. With social protection programs now incorporating digitized management information systems and electronic transfers, registration and electoral systems deploying biometric technologies, and ...

Time-Of-Flight Camera, Optical Tracker and Computed Tomography in Pairwise Data Registration.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bartlomiej Pycinski

Full Text Available A growing number of medical applications, including minimal invasive surgery, depends on multi-modal or multi-sensors data processing. Fast and accurate 3D scene analysis, comprising data registration, seems to be crucial for the development of computer aided diagnosis and therapy. The advancement of surface tracking system based on optical trackers already plays an important role in surgical procedures planning. However, new modalities, like the time-of-flight (ToF sensors, widely explored in non-medical fields are powerful and have the potential to become a part of computer aided surgery set-up. Connection of different acquisition systems promises to provide a valuable support for operating room procedures. Therefore, the detailed analysis of the accuracy of such multi-sensors positioning systems is needed.We present the system combining pre-operative CT series with intra-operative ToF-sensor and optical tracker point clouds. The methodology contains: optical sensor set-up and the ToF-camera calibration procedures, data pre-processing algorithms, and registration technique. The data pre-processing yields a surface, in case of CT, and point clouds for ToF-sensor and marker-driven optical tracker representation of an object of interest. An applied registration technique is based on Iterative Closest Point algorithm.The experiments validate the registration of each pair of modalities/sensors involving phantoms of four various human organs in terms of Hausdorff distance and mean absolute distance metrics. The best surface alignment was obtained for CT and optical tracker combination, whereas the worst for experiments involving ToF-camera.The obtained accuracies encourage to further develop the multi-sensors systems. The presented substantive discussion concerning the system limitations and possible improvements mainly related to the depth information produced by the ToF-sensor is useful for computer aided surgery developers.

Student Aids and BBCCS (B'nai B'rith Career and Counseling Service): A New Look at an Old Problem.

Science.gov (United States)

Feingold, S. Norman

Approximately 95 percent of affiliated Jewish youth attend college. Much is happening in student aid today that will probably affect parents and their children. Issues of importance include: (1) legal considerations; (2) sources of financial aid; (3) applying for financial aid; (4) state and federal programs of financial aid; (5) sources of…

Post-Secondary Attendance by Parental Income in the U.S. and Canada: What Role for Financial Aid Policy? NBER Working Paper No. 17218

Science.gov (United States)

Belley, Philippe; Frenette, Marc; Lochner, Lance

2011-01-01

This paper examines the implications of tuition and need-based financial aid policies for family income--post-secondary (PS) attendance relationships. We first conduct a parallel empirical analysis of the effects of parental income on PS attendance for recent high school cohorts in both the U.S. and Canada using data from the 1997 Cohort of the…

An Analysis of the Effects of State Financial Aid Policy on the Timing of Postsecondary Enrollment: A Focus on Income and Race Differences

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Ji Yun

2011-01-01

The driving force behind the recent increase in financial aid for college education is the rapid growth of state merit-based grant programs that provide scholarships to students who meet predefined standards of academic preparation at the state level, and this trend represents one of the most pronounced policy shifts away from a long tradition of…

17 CFR 210.3A-02 - Consolidated financial statements of the registrant and its subsidiaries.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 1975 Consolidated and Combined Financial Statements § 210.3A-02 Consolidated financial statements of... consolidated financial statements principles of inclusion or exclusion which will clearly exhibit the financial... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Consolidated financial...

17 CFR 229.304 - (Item 304) Changes in and disagreements with accountants on accounting and financial disclosure.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... disagreements with accountants on accounting and financial disclosure. 229.304 Section 229.304 Commodity and... accounting and financial disclosure. (a)(1) If during the registrant's two most recent fiscal years or any... any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure, or auditing scope or...

Danske praktiserende laegers rolle i forebyggelsen af aids

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sandbæk, Annelli

1998-01-01

The study describes Danish general practitioners' perception of their own role and their actual behaviour in the prevention of HIV/AIDS. Data collection was carried out by questionnaire and prospective registration of consultations dealing with HIV/AIDS during a two-week period. The results showed...... (56%) had not themselves initiated a conversation concerning the problem. The conclusion of the study is that there was discrepancy between the GPs' vision of their role in HIV prevention and activities in practice. It is recommended that initiatives are taken to strengthen the GPs' role in AIDS...

Financial Management Of Student Organizations In The University Of Eastern Philippines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jade Ballado Tan

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Student organizations manage their own funds and are given the autonomy and responsibility to spend these funds as the organization sees fit within the confines of university policies. A healthy financial structure is an important factor in student organization success and sustainability. Solid fiscal management creates a framework that allows organizations to work proactively to accomplish their goals and serve their communities with financially sustainable events and program. This study aimed at identifying the profile of the student organizations in terms of type registration and functions and designations of officers and advisers also identify the financial practices of student organizations in terms of managing their finances as well the problems encountered by student organizations in terms of financial management and eventually come up with a student organization financial manual. A descriptive survey research design was used and with the aid of the questionnaire data were gathered through purposive sampling technique from the 47 student leaders and advisers of the different organizations of the University of Eastern Philippines. Data gathered were analyzed through frequency mean and percentages. Findings of this study showed that almost all of the organizations have existing constitution and by-laws however in terms of the functions of officers and advisers the results revealed that some functions were not done by the officers who are suppose to do it. Generally the financial practices of the organizations were considered to be excellent especially budgeting and cash receipts but there are still important aspects that needs improvement and emphasis for a better financial management system. It was also revealed that the major concern of the organizations is the lack or absence of internal control policy manual and lack of proper turn-over of financial documents from the previous set of officers. The researchers conclude that the absence

Instructional Program for Student Registration, Voting and Participation in Election Activities.

Science.gov (United States)

New York City Board of Education, Brooklyn, NY. Bureau of Social Studies.

Recommended procedures and essential facts for a planned student registration campaign in New York City Schools, as well as suggested teaching strategies and instructional aids supporting a broad-based senior year preparation for the 18-year-old franchise comprise this document. The suggested teaching strategies involve large and small group…

Mutual aid fund commission

CERN Multimedia

Staff Association

2011-01-01

The composition of the Board of the Mutual Aid Fund for 2011 is as follows: President: Pascal Droux Vice-president: Connie Potter Treasurer: Louis Pereira Deputy treasurer: Barbara Brugger Secretary: Sonia Casenove Deputy secretary: Isabelle Mardirossian Members: Christopher David Thomas   Jean-Claude Vialis (GAC member)   Marie-Luce Falipou   Gunilla Santiard (Jean-Claude Vialis’s alternate) The role of the Fund is to provide financial help to members of personnel and beneficiaries of the Pension Fund who are in need of exceptional financial assistance. All requests are treated in the strictest confidence. Should you wish to apply for aid from the Fund, kindly contact any member of the Board as given above or Social Services, tel.74479 – 73867.

Sociocultural Constraints: The Relation between Generations in the United States, Parental Education, Income, Hispanic Origin and the Financial Aid Packages of Hispanic Undergraduate Students

Science.gov (United States)

Del Razo, Parvati Heliana

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to find out if the demographic variables of country of origin, generation in the United States (immigration status), income and parental education had an impact on the financial aid packages of Hispanic undergraduate students. This dissertation asked: What is the relation between generation in the United States,…

Role of Danish general practitioners in AIDS prevention

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sandbæk, Annelli

1996-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To describe Danish general practitioners' perception of their own role and to register their actual behaviour in the prevention of HIV/AIDS. DESIGN: Data collection was carried out by a) questionnaire and b) prospective registration of consultations dealing with HIV/AIDS in a two...... (94%) were of the opinion that GPs should play a central part in the prevention of HIV; 96% found that their knowledge was sufficient to advise on the prevention of HIV, and 90% thought that the GP should take the initiative to talk about HIV. The median number of consultations dealing with HIV......-week period in September 1992. SETTING: General practice, Denmark. SUBJECTS: One thousand general practitioners (GPs), selected at random, were asked to participate. The study population comprised 352 GPs who returned the questionnaire and participated in the prospective registration. RESULTS: Most of the GPs...

Microcredit for people affected by HIV and AIDS: insights from Kenya.

Science.gov (United States)

Datta, Dipankar; Njuguna, James

2008-07-01

Consequences of HIV and AIDS are exponential in Kenya, touching not only the health of those infected, but also depleting socioeconomic resources of entire families. Access to financial services is one of the important ways to protect and build economic resources. Unfortunately, the norm of financial viability discourages microfinance institutions from targeting people severely impacted by HIV and AIDS. Thus, HIV and AIDS service NGOs have been increasingly getting involved in microcredit activity in recent years for economic empowerment of their clients. Despite limited human resources and funding in the area of microcredit activity, these NGOs have demonstrated that nearly 50% of their microcredit beneficiaries invested money in income-generating activities, resulting in enhancement to their livelihood security. In the short term these NGOs need to improve their current practices. However, this does not mean launching microfinance initiatives within their AIDS-focused programmes, as financial services are best provided by specialised institutions. Longer-term cooperation between microfinance institutions and other AIDS service organisations and donors is necessary to master appropriate and rapid responses in areas experiencing severe impacts of HIV and AIDS.

Financial assistance: the order reflected in accounting and tax accounting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I.М. Vygivska

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The lack of a comprehensive approach to the accounting reflection of repayable financial aid makes it impossible to establish an information base for the evaluation of its attraction and use. Therefore, to ensure completeness of operations related to the involvement of financial assistance is only possible through the use of scientifically based methods of accounting and scientific researches in the field of accounting should be directed at ensuring stable financial condition of the enterprise, improving management decision-making to attract and use financial aid and prevent violations of the payment discipline. Based analysis approach to mapping returnable financial assistance has shown that the accounting staff has no single method for such transactions. In order to eliminate this disadvantage we offer to display repayable financial assistance as a part of the loan capital through the use of 609 "Swivel financial assistance" account to the opening of the analytical account of 609.1 "Swivel financial assistance in the national currency", and 609.2 "Swivel financial assistance in foreign currency" and the account of 505 "Long-term financial assistance in the national currency" and 506 "Long-term financial assistance in foreign currency".

14 CFR 152.325 - Financial status report: Airport planning.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Financial status report: Airport planning... agency conducting a project for airport system planning shall submit a financial status report on a form... TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRPORTS AIRPORT AID PROGRAM Accounting and Reporting Requirements § 152.325 Financial...

17 CFR 210.4-10 - Financial accounting and reporting for oil and gas producing activities pursuant to the Federal...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Financial accounting and... of General Application § 210.4-10 Financial accounting and reporting for oil and gas producing... section prescribes financial accounting and reporting standards for registrants with the Commission...

Online Finding Aids: Are They Practical?

Science.gov (United States)

Hostetter, Christina J.

2004-01-01

This article explores the uses, practicality, and problems involved in creating online finding aids by state-funded university archivists across the nation. It examines various aspects of online finding aids such as financial considerations, its importance as a research tool, timelines, demographics, and use. The more technical side is also…

Report: Fiscal Years 2016 and 2015 Financial Statements for the Pesticide Registration Fund

Science.gov (United States)

Report #17-F-0365, August 14, 2017. Due to the material weakness in internal controls noted, the agency cannot provide reasonable assurance that financial data provided for the PRIA Fund accurately reflect the agency’s financial activities and balances.

Report: Fiscal Years 2015 and 2014 Financial Statements for the Pesticide Registration Fund

Science.gov (United States)

Report #17-F-0315, July 10, 2017. Due to the material weakness in internal controls noted, the agency cannot provide reasonable assurance that financial data provided for the PRIA Fund accurately reflect the agency’s financial activities and balances.

Report: Fiscal Years 2014 and 2013 Financial Statements for the Pesticide Registration Fund

Science.gov (United States)

Report #16-F-0323, Sept 22, 2016. Due to the material weakness in internal controls noted, EPA cannot provide reasonable assurance that financial data provided for the PRIA Fund for FY 2014 accurately reflect the agency’s financial activities and balances.

17 CFR 240.15Bc3-1 - Withdrawal from registration of municipal securities dealers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... update any inaccurate information. (b) Every notice of withdrawal from registration as a municipal... Depository (operated by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.) in accordance with applicable... public interest or for the protection of investors, or within such shorter period of time as the...

Impact of financial incentives on behavior change program participation and risk reduction in worksite health promotion.

Science.gov (United States)

Gingerich, Stefan B; Anderson, David R; Koland, Heidi

2012-01-01

To examine the impact of financial incentives on behavior change program registration, completion, and risk improvement rates. Retrospective cohort study conducted to observe the relationship between financial incentives and behavior change program registration, completion, and risk improvement rates. Large public- or private-sector employers. Twenty-four organizations (n = 511,060 eligible employees) that offered comprehensive worksite health promotion (WHP) programs. Financial incentives offered for completion of a behavior change program as part of a WHP program. Behavior change program registration and completion data were obtained from standard reports. Company-level risk change was calculated from the average per-person number of risks on baseline and follow-up health risk assessments. Incentive design was determined from questionnaires completed by WHP program managers. Average registration rates, program completion rates, and risk improvement rates were compared using t-tests for companies that did versus did not offer incentives. Comparisons were also made between companies with incentives of less than $100 and those with incentives of $100 or more. Correlations between incentive value and outcome variables were assessed using Pearson correlations. Companies that offered incentives had significantly higher health coaching completion rates than companies not offering an incentive (82.9% vs. 76.4%, respectively, p = .017) but there was no significant association with registration (p = .384) or risk improvement rates (p = .242). Incentive values were not significantly associated with risk improvement rates (p = .240). Offering incentives for completing behavior change programs may increase completion rates, but increased health improvement does not necessarily follow.

Limited Reach: The Role of Mission and Institutional Aid in Supporting Minority Students

Science.gov (United States)

Finger, Mary Catherine

2013-01-01

This study uses a mixed methods research design to explore the relationship between institutional financial aid practice and graduation rates at a subset of private, non-profit four-year colleges and universities and explores how institutions prioritize allocations to financial aid within the framework of institutional mission, culture, and…

Student Aid Time-Bomb: The Coming Crisis in Canada's Financial Aid System. Canadian Educational Report Series

Science.gov (United States)

Junor, Sean; Usher, Alex

2006-01-01

This paper describes a looming crisis in Canadian student financial assistance. It begins by summarizing the known evidence with respect to student financial assistance. It notes that many studies have emphasized the central importance of grants targeted to low-income students as a means to expand of access to post-secondary education, but that…

State of Student Aid and Higher Education in Texas

Science.gov (United States)

Creusere, Marlena; Fletcher, Carla; Klepfer, Kasey; Norman, Patricia

2015-01-01

TG provides critical support to schools, students, and borrowers at every stage of the federal student aid process--from providing information on how to pay for a higher education including financial aid options, to facilitating successful loan repayment after graduation. This issue of "State of Student Aid and Higher Education in Texas"…

Uncovering Barriers to Financial Capability: Underrepresented Students' Access to Financial Resources

Science.gov (United States)

Eichelberger, Brenda; Mattioli, Heather; Foxhoven, Rachel

2017-01-01

Financial aid is designed to increase access to postsecondary education at all socioeconomic levels; however, college students are not always knowledgeable about personal finances or capable of making sound decisions regarding complex college and program choices, debt options, and long-term spending. This article reviews previous research on the…

Semi-automatic registration of 3D orthodontics models from photographs

Science.gov (United States)

Destrez, Raphaël.; Treuillet, Sylvie; Lucas, Yves; Albouy-Kissi, Benjamin

2013-03-01

In orthodontics, a common practice used to diagnose and plan the treatment is the dental cast. After digitization by a CT-scan or a laser scanner, the obtained 3D surface models can feed orthodontics numerical tools for computer-aided diagnosis and treatment planning. One of the pre-processing critical steps is the 3D registration of dental arches to obtain the occlusion of these numerical models. For this task, we propose a vision based method to automatically compute the registration based on photos of patient mouth. From a set of matched singular points between two photos and the dental 3D models, the rigid transformation to apply to the mandible to be in contact with the maxillary may be computed by minimizing the reprojection errors. During a precedent study, we established the feasibility of this visual registration approach with a manual selection of singular points. This paper addresses the issue of automatic point detection. Based on a priori knowledge, histogram thresholding and edge detection are used to extract specific points in 2D images. Concurrently, curvatures information detects 3D corresponding points. To improve the quality of the final registration, we also introduce a combined optimization of the projection matrix with the 2D/3D point positions. These new developments are evaluated on real data by considering the reprojection errors and the deviation angles after registration in respect to the manual reference occlusion realized by a specialist.

EDF Energies Nouvelles - 2010 Registration Document

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

EDF Energies Nouvelles is a world leader in renewable energy electricity. The company develops, builds and operates clean energy power plants both for its own account and for third parties. Historically, EDF Energies Nouvelles primarily developed its business in two geographical areas, Europe and North America (U.S., Canada and Mexico). EDF Energies Nouvelles is a subsidiary of EDF, helping the Group to achieve its renewable energy goals. The EDF Group generates low-carbon electricity around the world and actively participates in the energy transition. EDF Energies Nouvelles prioritizes development of wind and photovoltaic solar capacity. As an integrated operator with global reach, EDF Energies Nouvelles covers the entire renewable energy chain, from development to operation and maintenance, and manages all project phases in-house. This document is EDF Energies Nouvelles' registration document for the year 2010. It contains information about Group profile, governance, business, investments, property, plant and equipment, management, financial position, employees, shareholders, etc. The document includes the half-year and full year financial reports

American Foundation for AIDS Research

Science.gov (United States)

... WHO Support Pilot Study Investigating PrEP in the Philippines Other News and Features Breaking Her Silence We ... cost to you! About amfAR About HIV/AIDS Financial Information Donor Privacy Policy Terms of Use Sitemap ...

Unmet Student Financial Need in the State of Washington: A Study of the "Need Gap."

Science.gov (United States)

Fenske, Robert; And Others

A study of unmet student financial need in Washington State was conducted by the Washington Council for Postsecondary Education. "Unmet need" is the difference between need and the total amount of aid received by the student through federal, state, and institutional financial aid programs, privately funded scholarships, and nonsubsidized…

Registration Service

CERN Multimedia

GS Department

2010-01-01

Following a reorganization in Building 55, please note that the Registration Service is now organised as follows :  Ground floor: access cards (76903). 1st floor : registration of external firms’ personnel (76611 / 76622); car access stickers (76633); biometric registration (79710). Opening hours: 07-30 to 16-00 non-stop. GS-SEM Group General Infrastructure Services Department

Types of HIV/AIDS Antiretroviral Drugs

Science.gov (United States)

... Relations Cyber Infrastructure Computational Biology Equal Employment Opportunity Ethics Global Research Office of Mission Integration and Financial Management Strategic Planning Workforce Effectiveness Workplace Solutions Technology Transfer Intellectual Property Division of AIDS ...

Aid Supplies Over Time

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jones, Edward Samuel

The recent financial crisis has rekindled interest in the foreign aid supply behaviour of bilateral donors. Using the latest data covering the period 1960-2009, this paper examines how such behaviour is related to domestic factors. Based on a simple empirical model, a distinction is made between...

76 FR 19757 - The Federal Student Aid Programs Under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as Amended

Science.gov (United States)

2011-04-08

... institutional verification program, which ultimately makes the financial aid process easier for students, while... institutions to develop and implement their own comprehensive systems to verify student financial aid... institutions have addressed not only the accuracy of student aid awards and payments, but also the management...

The Information Provision of the Non-Financial Reporting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Korol Svitlana Ya.

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The article is aimed at developing the methodological foundations together with a scientific substantiation of the methodical recommendations for accounting and information provision of the non-financial reporting of enterprise. As a basis for this study have been taken recommendations by the Global Reporting Initiative. The indicators of non-financial report have been grouped with regard to their possible information provision. The article proves the possibility to use a single database to generate both financial and non-financial reporting based on the identification of the common accounting objects, formating a unified system of quantitative and qualitative characteristics. The expediency of using the faceted classification of accounts for organization of analytical accounting has been substantiated. New approaches to registration of both quantitative and qualitative data about facts of economic life of a socially responsible enterprise have been suggested, which make use of different algorithms for simple recording to odd and even accounts.

21 CFR 710.6 - Notification of registrant; cosmetic product establishment registration number.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 7 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Notification of registrant; cosmetic product... OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) COSMETICS VOLUNTARY REGISTRATION OF COSMETIC PRODUCT ESTABLISHMENTS § 710.6 Notification of registrant; cosmetic product establishment registration number. The...

Mammogram CAD, hybrid registration and iconic analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Boucher, A.; Cloppet, F.; Vincent, N.

2013-03-01

This paper aims to develop a computer aided diagnosis (CAD) based on a two-step methodology to register and analyze pairs of temporal mammograms. The concept of "medical file", including all the previous medical information on a patient, enables joint analysis of different acquisitions taken at different times, and the detection of significant modifications. The developed registration method aims to superimpose at best the different anatomical structures of the breast. The registration is designed in order to get rid of deformation undergone by the acquisition process while preserving those due to breast changes indicative of malignancy. In order to reach this goal, a referent image is computed from control points based on anatomical features that are extracted automatically. Then the second image of the couple is realigned on the referent image, using a coarse-to-fine approach according to expert knowledge that allows both rigid and non-rigid transforms. The joint analysis detects the evolution between two images representing the same scene. In order to achieve this, it is important to know the registration error limits in order to adapt the observation scale. The approach used in this paper is based on an image sparse representation. Decomposed in regular patterns, the images are analyzed under a new angle. The evolution detection problem has many practical applications, especially in medical images. The CAD is evaluated using recall and precision of differences in mammograms.

78 FR 26625 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Guaranty Agency Financial Report

Science.gov (United States)

2013-05-07

...; Comment Request; Guaranty Agency Financial Report AGENCY: Federal Student Aid (FSA), Department of... Financial Report. OMB Control Number: 1845-0026. Type of Review: An extension of an existing information... Agency Financial Report (GAFR), Education Form 2000, is used by the thirty-one (31) guaranty agencies...

16 CFR 1130.8 - Requirements for Web site registration or alternative e-mail registration.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... registration. (a) Link to registration page. The manufacturer's Web site, or other Web site established for the... web page that goes directly to “Product Registration.” (b) Purpose statement. The registration page... registration page. The Web site registration page shall request only the consumer's name, address, telephone...

College Savings Plans, Financial Aid, and Tax Strategy

Science.gov (United States)

Whiteside, Richard; Mentz, George S.

2004-01-01

A college degree is one of the most expensive purchases an American family can make. While today's costs are higher than ever before, parents have many more options whose sheer number and complexity have given rise to a whole new field-financial planning for college. This article, which is based on materials created for the enrollment management…

Grenelle law 1 and financial flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bacher, P.

2009-01-01

With the aid of three particularly significant examples on the subject of financial flow (photovoltaic electricity, wind power electricity, energy saving in existing housing), it can be shown that the practical details of implementing the decisions of the Grenelle Environment Round Table (conveyed in the Grenelle Law I) should be thoroughly reviewed in order to increase their efficiency and avoid unjustified financial transfers from tax payers as a whole and (or) electricity consumers to the promoters or suppliers of the systems. (author)

Constrained non-rigid registration for whole body image registration: method and validation

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xia; Yankeelov, Thomas E.; Peterson, Todd E.; Gore, John C.; Dawant, Benoit M.

2007-03-01

3D intra- and inter-subject registration of image volumes is important for tasks that include measurements and quantification of temporal/longitudinal changes, atlas-based segmentation, deriving population averages, or voxel and tensor-based morphometry. A number of methods have been proposed to tackle this problem but few of them have focused on the problem of registering whole body image volumes acquired either from humans or small animals. These image volumes typically contain a large number of articulated structures, which makes registration more difficult than the registration of head images, to which the vast majority of registration algorithms have been applied. To solve this problem, we have previously proposed an approach, which initializes an intensity-based non-rigid registration algorithm with a point based registration technique [1, 2]. In this paper, we introduce new constraints into our non-rigid registration algorithm to prevent the bones from being deformed inaccurately. Results we have obtained show that the new constrained algorithm leads to better registration results than the previous one.

Mass preserving image registration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gorbunova, Vladlena; Sporring, Jon; Lo, Pechin Chien Pau

2010-01-01

The paper presents results the mass preserving image registration method in the Evaluation of Methods for Pulmonary Image Registration 2010 (EMPIRE10) Challenge. The mass preserving image registration algorithm was applied to the 20 image pairs. Registration was evaluated using four different...

Use of volume-rendered images in registration of nuclear medicine studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wallis, J.W.; Miller, T.R.; Hsu, S.S.

1995-01-01

A simple operator-guided alignment technique based on volume-rendered images was developed to register tomographic nuclear medicine studies. For each of 2 three-dimensional data sets to be registered, volume-rendered images were generated in 3 orthogonal projections (x,y,z) using the method of maximum-activity projection. Registration was achieved as follows: (a) One of the rendering orientations (e.g. x) was chosen for manipulation; (b) The two dimensional rendering was translated and rotated under operator control to achieve the best alignment as determined by visual assessment; (c) This rotation and translation was then applied to the underlying three-dimensional data set, with updating of the rendered images in each of the orthogonal projections; (d) Another orientation was chosen, and the process repeated. Since manipulation was performed on the small two-dimensional rendered image, feedback was instantaneous. To aid in the visual alignment, difference images and flicker images (toggling between the two data sets) were displayed. Accuracy was assessed by analysis of separate clinical data sets acquired without patient movement. After arbitrary rotation and translation of one of the two data sets, the 2 data sets were registered. Mean registration error was 0.36 pixels, corresponding to a 2.44 mm registration error. Thus, accurate registration can be achieved in under 10 minutes using this simple technique. The accuracy of registration was assessed with use of duplicate SPECT studies originating from separate reconstructions of the data from each of the detectors of a triple-head gamma camera

Registration of Space Objects

Science.gov (United States)

Schmidt-Tedd, Bernhard

2017-07-01

Space objects are subject to registration in order to allocate "jurisdiction and control" over those objects in the sovereign-free environment of outer space. This approach is similar to the registration of ships in view of the high sea and for aircrafts with respect to the international airspace. Registration is one of the basic principles of space law, starting with UN General Assembly Resolution 1721 B (XVI) of December 20, 1961, followed by Resolution 1962 (XVIII) of December 13, 1963, then formulated in Article VIII of the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 and as specified in the Registration Convention of 1975. Registration of space objects can be seen today as a principle of customary international law, relevant for each spacefaring state. Registration is divided into a national and an international level. The State Party establishes a national registry for its space objects, and those registrations have to be communicated via diplomatic channel to the UN Register of space objects. This UN Register is handled by the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and is an open source of information for space objects worldwide. Registration is linked to the so-called launching state of the relevant space object. There might be more than one launching state for the specific launch event, but only one state actor can register a specific space object. The state of registry gains "jurisdiction and control" over the space object and therefore no double registration is permissible. Based on the established UN Space Law, registration practice was subject to some adaptions due to technical developments and legal challenges. After the privatization of the major international satellite organizations, a number of non-registrations had to be faced. The state actors reacted with the UN Registration Practice Resolution of 2007 as elaborated in the Legal Subcommittee of UNCOPUOS, the Committee for the Peaceful Use of Outer Space. In this context an UNOOSA Registration Information

21 CFR 1301.36 - Suspension or revocation of registration; suspension of registration pending final order...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 9 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Suspension or revocation of registration; suspension of registration pending final order; extension of registration pending final order. 1301.36... registration pending final order; extension of registration pending final order. (a) For any registration...

21 CFR 710.8 - Misbranding by reference to registration or to registration number.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) COSMETICS VOLUNTARY REGISTRATION OF COSMETIC PRODUCT ESTABLISHMENTS § 710.8 Misbranding by reference to registration or to registration number. Registration of a cosmetic product... products by the Food and Drug Administration. Any representation in labeling or advertising that creates an...

What does sustainability mean in the HIV and AIDS response ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Immense progress has been made in the fight against HIV and AIDS. Achieving and exceeding the AIDS targets for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) was accomplished, in large part, due to an unprecedented financial investment from the international community. Following an $800 million dip in donor ...

Federal Student Aid Formula: Cost-of-Living Adjustment Could Increase Aid to a Small Percentage of Students in High-Cost Areas but Could Also Further Complicate Aid Process. Report to Congressional Committees. GAO-09-825

Science.gov (United States)

US Government Accountability Office, 2009

2009-01-01

In fiscal year 2008, the Department of Education oversaw the distribution of approximately $96 billion in federal student financial aid, including $14.6 billion in Pell Grants to low- and middle-income students, to help students and their families pay for higher-education expenses. Much of this aid was distributed based on a formula specified in…

17 CFR 240.15Cc1-1 - Withdrawal from registration of government securities brokers or government securities dealers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.) in accordance with applicable filing requirements. Prior to....5(a) to update any inaccurate information. (b) A notice of withdrawal from registration filed by a... may determine as necessary or appropriate in the public interest or for the protection of investors...

The Effect of Alternative Savings Approaches on College Aid. Opportunity and Ownership Facts. Number 15

Science.gov (United States)

Maag, Elaine

2009-01-01

To pay for college, many low- and moderate-income students and their families rely on financial aid and savings. How students and families save--and in whose name--affects both the tax consequences and the impact of savings on financial aid. Choosing the wrong way to save can raise the out-of-pocket costs of college by thousands of dollars.…

Improving supervised classification accuracy using non-rigid multimodal image registration: detecting prostate cancer

Science.gov (United States)

Chappelow, Jonathan; Viswanath, Satish; Monaco, James; Rosen, Mark; Tomaszewski, John; Feldman, Michael; Madabhushi, Anant

2008-03-01

Computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) systems for the detection of cancer in medical images require precise labeling of training data. For magnetic resonance (MR) imaging (MRI) of the prostate, training labels define the spatial extent of prostate cancer (CaP); the most common source for these labels is expert segmentations. When ancillary data such as whole mount histology (WMH) sections, which provide the gold standard for cancer ground truth, are available, the manual labeling of CaP can be improved by referencing WMH. However, manual segmentation is error prone, time consuming and not reproducible. Therefore, we present the use of multimodal image registration to automatically and accurately transcribe CaP from histology onto MRI following alignment of the two modalities, in order to improve the quality of training data and hence classifier performance. We quantitatively demonstrate the superiority of this registration-based methodology by comparing its results to the manual CaP annotation of expert radiologists. Five supervised CAD classifiers were trained using the labels for CaP extent on MRI obtained by the expert and 4 different registration techniques. Two of the registration methods were affi;ne schemes; one based on maximization of mutual information (MI) and the other method that we previously developed, Combined Feature Ensemble Mutual Information (COFEMI), which incorporates high-order statistical features for robust multimodal registration. Two non-rigid schemes were obtained by succeeding the two affine registration methods with an elastic deformation step using thin-plate splines (TPS). In the absence of definitive ground truth for CaP extent on MRI, classifier accuracy was evaluated against 7 ground truth surrogates obtained by different combinations of the expert and registration segmentations. For 26 multimodal MRI-WMH image pairs, all four registration methods produced a higher area under the receiver operating characteristic curve compared to that

Automatic registration of panoramic image sequence and mobile laser scanning data using semantic features

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jianping; Yang, Bisheng; Chen, Chi; Huang, Ronggang; Dong, Zhen; Xiao, Wen

2018-02-01

Inaccurate exterior orientation parameters (EoPs) between sensors obtained by pre-calibration leads to failure of registration between panoramic image sequence and mobile laser scanning data. To address this challenge, this paper proposes an automatic registration method based on semantic features extracted from panoramic images and point clouds. Firstly, accurate rotation parameters between the panoramic camera and the laser scanner are estimated using GPS and IMU aided structure from motion (SfM). The initial EoPs of panoramic images are obtained at the same time. Secondly, vehicles in panoramic images are extracted by the Faster-RCNN as candidate primitives to be matched with potential corresponding primitives in point clouds according to the initial EoPs. Finally, translation between the panoramic camera and the laser scanner is refined by maximizing the overlapping area of corresponding primitive pairs based on the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), resulting in a finer registration between panoramic image sequences and point clouds. Two challenging urban scenes were experimented to assess the proposed method, and the final registration errors of these two scenes were both less than three pixels, which demonstrates a high level of automation, robustness and accuracy.

32 CFR 1615.1 - Registration.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... registration card or other method of registration prescribed by the Director of Selective Service by a person... the records (master computer file) of the Selective Service System. Registration is completed when... Director include completing a Selective Service Registration Card at a classified Post Office, registration...

Registration performance on EUV masks using high-resolution registration metrology

Science.gov (United States)

Steinert, Steffen; Solowan, Hans-Michael; Park, Jinback; Han, Hakseung; Beyer, Dirk; Scherübl, Thomas

2016-10-01

Next-generation lithography based on EUV continues to move forward to high-volume manufacturing. Given the technical challenges and the throughput concerns a hybrid approach with 193 nm immersion lithography is expected, at least in the initial state. Due to the increasing complexity at smaller nodes a multitude of different masks, both DUV (193 nm) and EUV (13.5 nm) reticles, will then be required in the lithography process-flow. The individual registration of each mask and the resulting overlay error are of crucial importance in order to ensure proper functionality of the chips. While registration and overlay metrology on DUV masks has been the standard for decades, this has yet to be demonstrated on EUV masks. Past generations of mask registration tools were not necessarily limited in their tool stability, but in their resolution capabilities. The scope of this work is an image placement investigation of high-end EUV masks together with a registration and resolution performance qualification. For this we employ a new generation registration metrology system embedded in a production environment for full-spec EUV masks. This paper presents excellent registration performance not only on standard overlay markers but also on more sophisticated e-beam calibration patterns.

Rethinking Student Services: Assessing and Improving Service Quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Zammuto, Raymond F.; And Others

1996-01-01

A study investigated the quality of services in four student enrollment services administrative sub-units (recruiting, admissions, records and registration, financial aid) at a public comprehensive university, using student and staff evaluations and program evaluations. Specific changes needed to improve service delivery are identified and…

External financial aid to blood transfusion services in sub-Saharan Africa

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ala, Fereydoun; Allain, Jean-Pierre; Bates, Imelda

2012-01-01

Jean-Pierre Allain and colleagues argue that, while unintended, the foreign aid provided for blood transfusion services in sub-Saharan Africa has resulted in serious negative outcomes, which requires reflection and rethinking.......Jean-Pierre Allain and colleagues argue that, while unintended, the foreign aid provided for blood transfusion services in sub-Saharan Africa has resulted in serious negative outcomes, which requires reflection and rethinking....

Food security and HIV/AIDS

African Journals Online (AJOL)

households in Homa Bay, Kenya. The paper argues that once patients are stable, they can effectively be engaged in farming with minimal financial and technical support, resulting in enhanced food security of the affected households. More importantly, it helps to reduce. HIV/AIDS-related stigma and improve the individual's ...

State of Student Aid and Higher Education in Texas, 2016

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandez, Chris; Fletcher, Carla; Klepfer, Kasey

2016-01-01

Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation (TG) provides critical support to schools, students, and borrowers at every stage of the federal student aid process--from providing information on how to pay for a higher education including financial aid options, to facilitating successful loan repayment after graduation. This 2016 issue of "State…

Information from the Registration Service

CERN Multimedia

GS Department

2011-01-01

Please note that the Registration Service (Bldg 55-1st floor) will be exceptionally open during the annual end of year closure from 10:00 to 12:00 on the following days: 22, 23, 26, 27,28, 29 et 30 December 2011 and 2,3, et 4 January 2012. All the activities related to the Registration Service will be operational: registration for contractors’ personnel; registrations for professional visits; access cards; car stickers; biometric registration. The Registration Service

75 FR 19403 - Meeting of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-14

... public attendance is mandatory. Please contact: Natalie Pojman, Office of National AIDS Policy (202) 456... advice, information, and recommendations to the Secretary regarding programs and policies intended to (a..., date of birth, residency, and country of origin to process public access attendance. Pre-registration...

Can Financial Aid Help to Address the Growing Need for STEM Education? The Effects of Need-Based Grants on the Completion of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Courses and Degrees

Science.gov (United States)

Castleman, Benjamin L.; Long, Bridget Terry; Mabel, Zachary

2018-01-01

Although workers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields earn above-average wages, the number of college graduates prepared for STEM jobs lags behind employer demand. A key question is how to recruit and retain college students in STEM majors. We offer new evidence on the role of financial aid in supporting STEM attainment.…

Elections to the Mutual Aid Fund

CERN Document Server

2016-01-01

Every two years, according to Article 6 of the Regulations of the Mutual Aid Fund, the Committee of the Mutual Aid Fund must renew one third of its membership. This year three members are outgoing. Of these three, two will stand again and one will not.   Candidates should be ready to give approximately two hours a month during working time to the Fund whose aim is to assist colleagues in financial difficulties. We invite applications from CERN Staff who wish to stand for election as a member of the CERN Mutual Aid Fund to send in their application before 17 June 2016, by email to the Fund’s President, Connie Potter (connie.potter@cern.ch).

Evidence of AIDS mortality from an alternative source: A Swaziland ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper explores a way of measuring AIDS mortality in the absence of vital registration. It looks at the death notices in the major daily newspaper in Swaziland, The Times of Swaziland, and asks if this can be analysed to give a picture of changing mortality. It shows how clear trends can be discerned. Keywords: AIDS ...

Reproductive Health Aid : A Delicate Balancing Act

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Dalen, H.P.; Micevska Scharf, M.

2011-01-01

In this contribution the authors show that development assistance targeting reproductive health overwhelmingly concentrates on HIV/AIDS at the expense of family planning elements. Data on financial contributions disbursed by governments and private foundations are used as collected by the Resource

Report: Fiscal 2005 and 2004 (restated) Financial Statements for the Pesticide Registration Fund

Science.gov (United States)

Report #2007-1-00002, January 9, 2007. EPA’s Washington Finance Center recorded adjusting and correcting entries for PRIA collections in the Integrated Financial Management System without adequately documenting the errors, corrections, or modifications.

Assessment of rigid multi-modality image registration consistency using the multiple sub-volume registration (MSR) method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ceylan, C; Heide, U A van der; Bol, G H; Lagendijk, J J W; Kotte, A N T J

2005-01-01

Registration of different imaging modalities such as CT, MRI, functional MRI (fMRI), positron (PET) and single photon (SPECT) emission tomography is used in many clinical applications. Determining the quality of any automatic registration procedure has been a challenging part because no gold standard is available to evaluate the registration. In this note we present a method, called the 'multiple sub-volume registration' (MSR) method, for assessing the consistency of a rigid registration. This is done by registering sub-images of one data set on the other data set, performing a crude non-rigid registration. By analysing the deviations (local deformations) of the sub-volume registrations from the full registration we get a measure of the consistency of the rigid registration. Registration of 15 data sets which include CT, MR and PET images for brain, head and neck, cervix, prostate and lung was performed utilizing a rigid body registration with normalized mutual information as the similarity measure. The resulting registrations were classified as good or bad by visual inspection. The resulting registrations were also classified using our MSR method. The results of our MSR method agree with the classification obtained from visual inspection for all cases (p < 0.02 based on ANOVA of the good and bad groups). The proposed method is independent of the registration algorithm and similarity measure. It can be used for multi-modality image data sets and different anatomic sites of the patient. (note)

Higher Education Financial Assistance Tools for Middle- and Upper-Income Taxpayers

Science.gov (United States)

Condon, James V.; Prince, Lori H.

2008-01-01

This article describes higher education financial assistance tools designed mainly for students of middle- and upper-income families who may not be eligible for financial aid from other sources. It includes the 2007 legislative updates for these tools, all of which have been devised and offered by either state or federal governments. The authors…

21 CFR 1301.52 - Termination of registration; transfer of registration; distribution upon discontinuance of business.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... discontinues business or professional practice. Any registrant who ceases legal existence or discontinues... registration; distribution upon discontinuance of business. 1301.52 Section 1301.52 Food and Drugs DRUG... of registration; transfer of registration; distribution upon discontinuance of business. (a) Except...

Building without financial aid from the state; Bauen ohne Foerderung

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ristau, Oliver

2012-07-01

While Spain is suffering from a financial crisis, a renaissance of reimbursement strategies for photovoltaic plants is highly improbable. On the other hand, solar energy now has the chance to succeed in the free market.

78 FR 26334 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; 2014-2015 Federal Student Aid Application

Science.gov (United States)

2013-05-06

... on their behalf through FOTW. FAA Access Online tool that a Submitted through financial aid www... financial reporting forms as described in this subsection to be used for application and reapplication to determine the need and eligibility of a student for financial assistance . . .''. The determination of need...

Performance evaluation of 2D image registration algorithms with the numeric image registration and comparison platform

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gerganov, G.; Kuvandjiev, V.; Dimitrova, I.; Mitev, K.; Kawrakow, I.

2012-01-01

The objective of this work is to present the capabilities of the NUMERICS web platform for evaluation of the performance of image registration algorithms. The NUMERICS platform is a web accessible tool which provides access to dedicated numerical algorithms for registration and comparison of medical images (http://numerics.phys.uni-sofia.bg). The platform allows comparison of noisy medical images by means of different types of image comparison algorithms, which are based on statistical tests for outliers. The platform also allows 2D image registration with different techniques like Elastic Thin-Plate Spline registration, registration based on rigid transformations, affine transformations, as well as non-rigid image registration based on Mobius transformations. In this work we demonstrate how the platform can be used as a tool for evaluation of the quality of the image registration process. We demonstrate performance evaluation of a deformable image registration technique based on Mobius transformations. The transformations are applied with appropriate cost functions like: Mutual information, Correlation coefficient, Sum of Squared Differences. The accent is on the results provided by the platform to the user and their interpretation in the context of the performance evaluation of 2D image registration. The NUMERICS image registration and image comparison platform provides detailed statistical information about submitted image registration jobs and can be used to perform quantitative evaluation of the performance of different image registration techniques. (authors)

Evaluating the financial performance of agri-food firms: a multicriteria decision-aid approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kalogeras, N.; Baourakis, G.; Zopounidis, C.; Dijk, van G.

2005-01-01

Food economists and financial researchers have long been preoccupied by the issue of evaluating the performance of agri-food firms. As the financial restructuring of the agri-business sector during the past two decades or so reflects sweeping changes that have occurred worldwide, questions have

Intergenerational transfers in the era of HIV/AIDS: Evidence from rural Malawi.

Science.gov (United States)

Kohler, Iliana V; Kohler, Hans-Peter; Anglewicz, Philip; Behrman, Jere R

2012-12-13

Intergenerational transfer patterns in sub-Saharan Africa are poorly understood, despite the alleged importance of support networks to ameliorate the complex implications of the HIV/AIDS epidemic for families. There is a considerable need for research on intergenerational support networks and transfers to better understand the mechanisms through which extended families cope with the HIV/AIDS epidemic and potentially alleviate some of its consequences in sub-Saharan Africa, and to comprehend how transfers respond-or not-to perceptions about own and other family members' health. Using the 2008 round of the Malawi Longitudinal Study of Families and Health (MLSFH), we estimate the age patterns and the multiple directions of financial and non-financial transfer flows in rural Malawi-from prime-aged respondents to their elderly parents and adult children age 15 and up. We also estimate the social, demographic and economic correlates of financial and non-financial transfers of financial intergenerational transfers in this context. Our findings are that: (1) intergenerational financial and non-financial transfers are widespread and a key characteristic of family relationships in rural Malawi; (2) downward and upward transfers are importantly constrained and determined by the availability of transfer partners (parents or adult children); (3) financial net transfers are strongly age-patterned and the middle generations are net-providers of transfers; (4) non-financial transfers are based on mutual assistance rather than reallocation of resources; and (5) intergenerational transfers are generally not related to health status, including HIV positive status.

Notification: Background Investigation Services Audits of EPA’s Fiscal Year 2015 FIFRA and PRIA Financial Statements

Science.gov (United States)

Projects #OA-FY16-0080 and #OA-FY16-0079, February 8, 2016. EPA OIG plan to begin audits of the EPA's fiscal year (FY) 2015 financial statements for the Pesticides Reregistration and Expedited Processing Fund (FIFRA) and Pesticide Registration Fund (PRIA).

Image registration with uncertainty analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Simonson, Katherine M [Cedar Crest, NM

2011-03-22

In an image registration method, edges are detected in a first image and a second image. A percentage of edge pixels in a subset of the second image that are also edges in the first image shifted by a translation is calculated. A best registration point is calculated based on a maximum percentage of edges matched. In a predefined search region, all registration points other than the best registration point are identified that are not significantly worse than the best registration point according to a predetermined statistical criterion.

Analyzing Student Aid Packaging To Improve Low-Income and Minority Student Access, Retention and Degree Completion. AIR 1999 Annual Forum Paper.

Science.gov (United States)

Fenske, Robert H.; Porter, John D.; DuBrock, Caryl P.

This study examined the persistence of and financial aid to needy students, underrepresented minority students, and women students, especially those majoring in science, engineering, and mathematics at a large public research university. An institutional student tracking and student financial aid database was used to follow four freshmen cohorts…

A Remote Registration Based on MIDAS

Science.gov (United States)

JIN, Xin

2017-04-01

We often need for software registration to protect the interests of the software developers. This article narrated one kind of software long-distance registration technology. The registration method is: place the registration information in a database table, after the procedure starts in check table registration information, if it has registered then the procedure may the normal operation; Otherwise, the customer must input the sequence number and registers through the network on the long-distance server. If it registers successfully, then records the registration information in the database table. This remote registration method can protect the rights of software developers.

State Tuition, Fees, and Financial Assistance Policies: For Public Colleges and Universities, 2010-11

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, Allison C.; Carnahan, Julie; L'Orange, Hans P.

2011-01-01

This report, "State Tuition, Fees, and Financial Assistance Policies for Public Colleges and Universities: 2010-11", examines the philosophies, policies, and procedures that influence decision-making regarding public college and university tuition, student fees, and student financial aid programs. This report also provides information…

Augmented reality with image registration, vision correction and sunlight readability via liquid crystal devices

OpenAIRE

Wang, Yu-Jen; Chen, Po-Ju; Liang, Xiao; Lin, Yi-Hsin

2017-01-01

Augmented reality (AR), which use computer-aided projected information to augment our sense, has important impact on human life, especially for the elder people. However, there are three major challenges regarding the optical system in the AR system, which are registration, vision correction, and readability under strong ambient light. Here, we solve three challenges simultaneously for the first time using two liquid crystal (LC) lenses and polarizer-free attenuator integrated in optical-see-...

Image Registration: A Necessary Evil

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, James; McLachlan, Blair; Hermstad, Dexter; Trosin, Jeff; George, Michael W. (Technical Monitor)

1995-01-01

Registration of test and reference images is a key component of nearly all PSP data reduction techniques. This is done to ensure that a test image pixel viewing a particular point on the model is ratioed by the reference image pixel which views the same point. Typically registration is needed to account for model motion due to differing airloads when the wind-off and wind-on images are taken. Registration is also necessary when two cameras are used for simultaneous acquisition of data from a dual-frequency paint. This presentation will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of several different image registration techniques. In order to do so, it is necessary to propose both an accuracy requirement for image registration and a means for measuring the accuracy of a particular technique. High contrast regions in the unregistered images are most sensitive to registration errors, and it is proposed that these regions be used to establish the error limits for registration. Once this is done, the actual registration error can be determined by locating corresponding points on the test and reference images, and determining how well a particular registration technique matches them. An example of this procedure is shown for three transforms used to register images of a semispan model. Thirty control points were located on the model. A subset of the points were used to determine the coefficients of each registration transform, and the error with which each transform aligned the remaining points was determined. The results indicate the general superiority of a third-order polynomial over other candidate transforms, as well as showing how registration accuracy varies with number of control points. Finally, it is proposed that image registration may eventually be done away with completely. As more accurate image resection techniques and more detailed model surface grids become available, it will be possible to map raw image data onto the model surface accurately. Intensity

Food aid to developing countries: a survey

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maxwell, S J; Singer, H W

1979-03-01

Food air currently constitutes nearly 15% of official development assistance and hence has considerable potential as a stimulant to growth in less-developed countries (LDCs). This paper reviews the evidence on the impact of food aid on growth and its associated factors. While recognizing that the use of food aid is influenced by a constellation of interests in recipient and donor countries, it identifies a set of guiding principles for maximizing the effectiveness of food aid. These include the need for food (relative to other development needs), its level of substitutability with commercial imports, its incorporation in a poverty-oriented development plan, its guaranteed availability and its complementarity with financial aid. Current food air programs recognize the relevance of some of these principles - e.g. the criteria of necessity - but ignore others - notably the need to situate food aid in a comprehensive plan for improving patterns of income distribution in LDCs. 203 notes, 203 references.

TU-B-19A-01: Image Registration II: TG132-Quality Assurance for Image Registration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brock, K; Mutic, S

2014-01-01

AAPM Task Group 132 was charged with a review of the current approaches and solutions for image registration in radiotherapy and to provide recommendations for quality assurance and quality control of these clinical processes. As the results of image registration are always used as the input of another process for planning or delivery, it is important for the user to understand and document the uncertainty associate with the algorithm in general and the Result of a specific registration. The recommendations of this task group, which at the time of abstract submission are currently being reviewed by the AAPM, include the following components. The user should understand the basic image registration techniques and methods of visualizing image fusion. The disclosure of basic components of the image registration by commercial vendors is critical in this respect. The physicists should perform end-to-end tests of imaging, registration, and planning/treatment systems if image registration is performed on a stand-alone system. A comprehensive commissioning process should be performed and documented by the physicist prior to clinical use of the system. As documentation is important to the safe implementation of this process, a request and report system should be integrated into the clinical workflow. Finally, a patient specific QA practice should be established for efficient evaluation of image registration results. The implementation of these recommendations will be described and illustrated during this educational session. Learning Objectives: Highlight the importance of understanding the image registration techniques used in their clinic. Describe the end-to-end tests needed for stand-alone registration systems. Illustrate a comprehensive commissioning program using both phantom data and clinical images. Describe a request and report system to ensure communication and documentation. Demonstrate an clinically-efficient patient QA practice for efficient evaluation of image

Exclusive Rights and State Aid

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ølykke, Grith Skovgaard

2017-01-01

Exclusive rights are granted in order to regulate markets as one of several possible tools of public intervention. The article considers the role of State aid law in the regulation of exclusive rights. Whereas the right of Member States to organise markets as monopolies and the choice of provider...... are regulated by free movement rules and Article 106 TFEU, State aid law regulates the terms of the right to ensure that the beneficiary is not granted an economic advantage. Exclusive rights may be granted on various terms: for a payment, in combination with compensation or as compensation. The two former...... kinds of terms are regulated under State aid law which requires market terms. The granting of exclusive rights as compensation is analysed on the basis of the Eventech judgment, and it is found that when no financial transaction is included in the grant, it resembles a decision to organise a market...

First aid on field management in youth football.

Science.gov (United States)

Krutsch, Werner; Voss, Andreas; Gerling, Stephan; Grechenig, Stephan; Nerlich, Michael; Angele, Peter

2014-09-01

Sufficient first aid equipment is essential to treat injuries on football fields. Deficits in first aid on field are still present in youth football. Injury pattern in youth football over one season and first aid equipment in youth football were analyzed, retrospectively. PRICE and ABC procedure served as basic principles in emergency management to assess the need for first aid equipment on field. Considering financial limits and adapted on youth football injuries, sufficient first aid equipment for youth football was configured. 84% of 73 participating youth football teams had their own first aid kit, but the majority of them were insufficiently equipped. Team coaches were in 60% of all youth teams responsible for using first aid equipment. The injury evaluation presented 922 injuries to 1,778 youth players over one season. Frequently presented types of injury were contusions and sprains of the lower extremity. Based on the analyzed injury data in youth football, first aid equipment with 90 € is sufficient for 100% of all occurred youth football injuries. Current first aid equipment in youth football is insufficient. Scientific-based first aid equipment with 90 € is adequate to serve all injuries. Football coaches need education in first aid management.

Computer assisted determination of acetabular cup orientation using 2D-3D image registration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheng, Guoyan; Zhang, Xuan

2010-01-01

2D-3D image-based registration methods have been developed to measure acetabular cup orientation after total hip arthroplasty (THA). These methods require registration of both the prosthesis and the CT images to 2D radiographs and compute implant position with respect to a reference. The application of these methods is limited in clinical practice due to two limitations: (1) the requirement of a computer-aided design (CAD) model of the prosthesis, which may be unavailable due to the proprietary concerns of the manufacturer, and (2) the requirement of either multiple radiographs or radiograph-specific calibration, usually unavailable for retrospective studies. In this paper, we propose a new method to address these limitations. A new formulation for determination of post-operative cup orientation, which couples a radiographic measurement with 2D-3D image matching, was developed. In our formulation, the radiographic measurement can be obtained with known methods so that the challenge lies in the 2D-3D image matching. To solve this problem, a hybrid 2D-3D registration scheme combining a landmark-to-ray 2D-3D alignment with a robust intensity-based 2D-3D registration was used. The hybrid 2D-3D registration scheme allows computing both the post-operative cup orientation with respect to an anatomical reference and the pelvic tilt and rotation with respect to the X-ray imaging table/plate. The method was validated using 2D adult cadaver hips. Using the hybrid 2D-3D registration scheme, our method showed a mean accuracy of 1.0 ± 0.7 (range from 0.1 to 2.0 ) for inclination and 1.7 ± 1.2 (range from 0.0 to 3.9 ) for anteversion, taking the measurements from post-operative CT images as ground truths. Our new solution formulation and the hybrid 2D-3D registration scheme facilitate estimation of post-operative cup orientation and measurement of pelvic tilt and rotation. (orig.)

The hidden KPI registration accuracy.

Science.gov (United States)

Shorrosh, Paul

2011-09-01

Determining the registration accuracy rate is fundamental to improving revenue cycle key performance indicators. A registration quality assurance (QA) process allows errors to be corrected before bills are sent and helps registrars learn from their mistakes. Tools are available to help patient access staff who perform registration QA manually.

12 CFR 583.18 - Registrant.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Registrant. 583.18 Section 583.18 Banks and Banking OFFICE OF THRIFT SUPERVISION, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY DEFINITIONS FOR REGULATIONS AFFECTING SAVINGS AND LOAN HOLDING COMPANIES § 583.18 Registrant. The term registrant means a savings and loan...

77 FR 66920 - Registration of Claims to Copyright: Group Registration of Serial Issues Filed Electronically

Science.gov (United States)

2012-11-08

... registered on a single application and for a single fee. The group registration privilege is contingent upon... was limited to basic registrations, i.e., claims in single works, while the capacity to process online... of related serials. Revisions to the electronic registration system will upgrade the capacity of the...

Automatic registration using implicit shape representations: applications in intraoperative 3D rotational angiography to preoperative CTA registration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Subramanian, Navneeth; Pichon, Eric; Solomon, Stephen B.

2009-01-01

A solution for automatic registration of 3D rotational angiography (XA) to CT/MR of the liver. Targeted for use in treatment planning of liver interventions. A shape-based approach to registration is proposed that does not require specification of landmarks nor is it prone to local minima like purely intensity-based registration methods. Through the use of vessel characteristics, accurate registration is possible even in the presence of deformations induced by catheters and respiratory motion. Registration was performed on eight pairs of multiphase CT angiography and 3D rotational digital angiography datasets. Quantitative validation of the registration accuracy using vessel landmarks was performed on these datasets. The validation study showed that the method has a registration error of 9.41±4.13 mm. In addition, the computation time is well below 60 s making it attractive for clinical application. A new method for fully automatic 3DXA to CT/MR image registration was developed and found to be efficient and accurate using clinically realistic datasets. (orig.)

Efficient nonrigid registration using ranked order statistics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tennakoon, Ruwan B.; Bab-Hadiashar, Alireza; de Bruijne, Marleen

2013-01-01

of research. In this paper we propose a fast and accurate non-rigid registration method for intra-modality volumetric images. Our approach exploits the information provided by an order statistics based segmentation method, to find the important regions for registration and use an appropriate sampling scheme......Non-rigid image registration techniques are widely used in medical imaging applications. Due to high computational complexities of these techniques, finding appropriate registration method to both reduce the computation burden and increase the registration accuracy has become an intense area...... to target those areas and reduce the registration computation time. A unique advantage of the proposed method is its ability to identify the point of diminishing returns and stop the registration process. Our experiments on registration of real lung CT images, with expert annotated landmarks, show...

Beating-heart registration for organ-mounted robots.

Science.gov (United States)

Wood, Nathan A; Schwartzman, David; Passineau, Michael J; Moraca, Robert J; Zenati, Marco A; Riviere, Cameron N

2018-03-06

Organ-mounted robots address the problem of beating-heart surgery by adhering to the heart, passively providing a platform that approaches zero relative motion. Because of the quasi-periodic deformation of the heart due to heartbeat and respiration, registration must address not only spatial registration but also temporal registration. Motion data were collected in the porcine model in vivo (N = 6). Fourier series models of heart motion were developed. By comparing registrations generated using an iterative closest-point approach at different phases of respiration, the phase corresponding to minimum registration distance is identified. The spatiotemporal registration technique presented here reduces registration error by an average of 4.2 mm over the 6 trials, in comparison with a more simplistic static registration that merely averages out the physiological motion. An empirical metric for spatiotemporal registration of organ-mounted robots is defined and demonstrated using data from animal models in vivo. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

77 FR 19649 - Notice of Submission for OMB Review; Federal Student Aid; Guaranty Agency Financial Report

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-02

... Financial Report SUMMARY: The Guaranty Agency Financial Report (GAFR), U.S. Department of Education (ED... Financial Report. OMB Control Number: 1845-0026. Type of Review: Revision. Total Estimated Number of Annual... consolidation loans; (4) remit to ED default and wage garnishment collections. ED also uses report data to...

Audit Guide: Audits of Federal Student Financial Assistance Programs at Participating Institutions and Institution Servicers.

Science.gov (United States)

Office of Inspector General (ED), Washington, DC.

All institutions participating in the Federal Student Financial Assistance Programs must have an annual financial aid compliance audit performed by an independent auditor. This guide is effective for fiscal years ending December 31, 1999, and thereafter, for institutions preparing for their yearly audit. The purpose of the document is to assist…

A study on computer-aided diagnosis based on temporal subtraction of sequential chest radiographs (in Japanese)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kano, Akiko

2001-01-01

An automated digital image subtraction technique for use with pairs of temporally sequential chest radiographs has been developed to aid radiologists in the detection of interval changes. Automated image registration based on nonlinear geometric warping is performed prior to subtraction in order to deal with complicated radiographic misregistration. Processing includes global matching, to achieve rough registration between the entire lung fields in the two images, and local matching, based on a cross-correlation method, to determine local shift values for a number of small regions. A proper warping of x,y-coordinates is determined by fitting two-dimensional polynomials to the distributions of the shift values. One image is warped and then subtracted from the other. The resultant subtraction images were able to enhance the conspicuity of various types of interval changes. Improved global matching based on a weighted template matching method achieved robust registration even with photofluorographs taken in chest mass screening programs, which had previously presented us with a relatively large number of poor-registration images. The new method was applied to 129 pairs of chest mass screening images, and offered registration accuracy as good as manual global matching. An observer test using 114 cases including 57 lung cancer cases presented better sensitivity and specificity on average compared to conventional comparison readings. In addition, newly developed image processing that eliminates the rib edge artifacts in subtraction images was applied to 26 images having pathological interval changes; results showed the potential for application to automated schemes for the detection of interval change patterns. With its capacity to improve the diagnostic accuracy of chest radiographs, the chest temporal subtraction technique promises to become an important element of computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) systems

What does sustainability mean in the HIV and AIDS response?

Science.gov (United States)

Oberth, Gemma; Whiteside, Alan

2016-01-01

Immense progress has been made in the fight against HIV and AIDS. Achieving and exceeding the AIDS targets for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) was accomplished, in large part, due to an unprecedented financial investment from the international community. Following an $800 million dip in donor disbursements in 2010, the discourse has since shifted to the need for greater sustainability of funding. But what does sustainability mean? Current efforts focus heavily on fiscal imperatives such as increasing domestic funding. This is important - needs are increasing at a faster rate than donor funding, especially with increased treatment coverage. The problem is that measures of financial sustainability tell very little about the actual sustainability of specific programmes, disease trajectories or enabling environments. Recognising that current definitions of sustainability lack clarity and depth, we offer a new six-tenet conceptualisation of what sustainability means in the HIV and AIDS response: (1) financial, (2) epidemiological, (3) political, (4) structural, (5) programmatic, and (6) human rights. Based on these, we examine examples of donor transitions for their approach to sustainability, including PEPFAR in South Africa, the Global Fund in Eastern Europe, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in India (Avahan). We conclude that sustainability must be understood within a broader framework beyond funding stability. We also recommend that certain interventions, such as programming for key populations, may have to continue to receive external support even if affected countries can afford to pay.

How to develop a company AIDS policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Bompey, S H

1986-07-01

It is for most businesses only a matter of time before they will have experience with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), and the experience could be very costly for companies which fail to implement an effective AIDS policy. Potential AIDS problems include: antidiscrimination suits based on firing or failing to hire an individual who had AIDS or carries the AIDS virus antibodies; defamation suits from employees who are wrongly identified; disability claims that do not fit the pattern for other diseases; civil rights penalties in some situations when AIDS victims are prevented from working; and run-ins with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration or the National Labor Relations Board if healthy workers refuse to work alongside AIDS victims. A company needs to think through its AIDS policy, but that does not mean establishing a "special" AIDS policy which may create paranoia among employees. The best approach is to develop a health policy that includes all catastrophic illnesses, not just AIDS. There have been few court decisions involving AIDS because AIDS is a recent illness, victims often do not live long enough to pursue the matter, and it often pays to settle AIDS cases out of court. Employers need to know that judges, administrative agencies, and arbitrators take the position that AIDS is a disability. As such, AIDS is treated under the anti-handicap discrimination laws on the books of most states. Additionally, the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination against the disabled by companies that contract with the federal government or receive federal financial assistance. It usually is illegal to discriminate against the disabled workers, and in some states against workers who are perceived to have a disability. The best defense against the fear of working alongside and AIDs sufferer is education.

Completeness of birth and death registration in a rural area of South Africa: the Agincourt health and demographic surveillance, 1992–2014

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michel Garenne

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Background: Completeness of vital registration remains very low in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in rural areas. Objectives: To investigate trends and factors in completeness of birth and death registration in Agincourt, a rural area of South Africa covering a population of about 110,000 persons, under demographic surveillance since 1992. The population belongs to the Shangaan ethnic group and hosts a sizeable community of Mozambican refugees. Design: Statistical analysis of birth and death registration over time in a 22-year perspective (1992–2014. Over this period, major efforts were made by the government of South Africa to improve vital registration. Factors associated with completeness of registration were investigated using univariate and multivariate analysis. Results: Birth registration was very incomplete at onset (7.8% in 1992 and reached high values at end point (90.5% in 2014. Likewise, death registration was low at onset (51.4% in 1992, also reaching high values at end point (97.1% in 2014. For births, the main factors were mother's age (much lower completeness among births to adolescent mothers, refugee status, and household wealth. For deaths, the major factors were age at death (lower completeness among under-five children, refugee status, and household wealth. Completeness increased for all demographic and socioeconomic categories studied and is likely to approach 100% in the future if trends continue at this speed. Conclusion: Reaching high values in the completeness of birth and death registration was achieved by excellent organization of the civil registration and vital statistics, a variety of financial incentives, strong involvement of health personnel, and wide-scale information and advocacy campaigns by the South African government.

A Simulation of Pell Grant Awards and Costs Using Prior-Prior Year Financial Data

Science.gov (United States)

Kelchen, Robert; Jones, Gigi

2015-01-01

We examine the likely implications of switching from a prior year (PY) financial aid system, the current practice in which students file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) using income data from the previous tax year, to prior-prior year (PPY), in which data from two years before enrollment is used. While PPY allows students to…

Comparisons among three types of generalist physicians: Personal characteristics, medical school experiences, financial aid, and other factors influencing career choice.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, G; Veloski, J J; Barzansky, B; Hojat, M; Diamond, J; Silenzio, V M

1996-01-01

A national survey of family physicians, general internists, and general pediatricians was conducted in the US to examine differences among the three groups of generalists physicians, with particular regard to the factors influencing their choice of generalist career. Family physicians were more likely to have made their career decision before medical school, and were more likely to have come from inner-city or rural areas. Personal values and early role models play a very important role in influencing their career choice. In comparison, a higher proportion of general internists had financial aid service obligations and their choice of the specialty was least influenced by personal values. General pediatricians had more clinical experiences either in primary care or with underserved populations, and they regarded medical school experiences as more important in influencing their specialty choice than did the other two groups. Admission committees may use these specialty-related factors to develop strategies to attract students into each type of generalist career.

Clinical trial registration in oral health journals.

Science.gov (United States)

Smaïl-Faugeron, V; Fron-Chabouis, H; Durieux, P

2015-03-01

Prospective registration of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) represents the best solution to reporting bias. The extent to which oral health journals have endorsed and complied with RCT registration is unknown. We identified journals publishing RCTs in dentistry, oral surgery, and medicine in the Journal Citation Reports. We classified journals into 3 groups: journals requiring or recommending trial registration, journals referring indirectly to registration, and journals providing no reference to registration. For the 5 journals with the highest 2012 impact factors in each group, we assessed whether RCTs with results published in 2013 had been registered. Of 78 journals examined, 32 (41%) required or recommended trial registration, 19 (24%) referred indirectly to registration, and 27 (35%) provided no reference to registration. We identified 317 RCTs with results published in the 15 selected journals in 2013. Overall, 73 (23%) were registered in a trial registry. Among those, 91% were registered retrospectively and 32% did not report trial registration in the published article. The proportion of trials registered was not significantly associated with editorial policies: 29% with results in journals that required or recommended registration, 15% in those that referred indirectly to registration, and 21% in those providing no reference to registration (P = 0.05). Less than one-quarter of RCTs with results published in a sample of oral health journals were registered with a public registry. Improvements are needed with respect to how journals inform and require their authors to register their trials. © International & American Associations for Dental Research.

Information Constraints and Financial Aid Policy. NBER Working Paper No. 17811

Science.gov (United States)

Scott-Clayton, Judith

2012-01-01

One justification for public support of higher education is that prospective students, particularly those from underprivileged groups, lack complete information about the costs and benefits of a college degree. Beyond financial considerations, students may also lack information about what they need to do academically to prepare for and…

Student Loans, Student Financial Aid and Post-Secondary Education in Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Finnie, Ross

2002-01-01

Briefly describes Canada's student loan system, including the typical costs of a year of postsecondary schooling and the levels of financial support available. Reports the results of an empirical analysis showing that borrowing remains at reasonable levels and repayment difficulties are still relatively uncommon. Suggests various reforms,…

40 CFR 164.21 - Contents of a denial of registration, notice of intent to cancel a registration, or notice of...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

..., notice of intent to cancel a registration, or notice of intent to change a classification. 164.21 Section... denial of registration, notice of intent to cancel a registration, or notice of intent to change a classification. (a) Contents. The denial of registration or a notice of intent to cancel a registration or to...

17 CFR 210.3-12 - Age of financial statements at effective date of registration statement or at mailing date of...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Age of financial statements at... FOR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934, PUBLIC UTILITY... POLICY AND CONSERVATION ACT OF 1975 General Instructions As to Financial Statements § 210.3-12 Age of...

Community Participation in the Impact Aid Program. Special Impact Aid Provisions for Local Education Agencies That Claim Entitlements Based on the Number of Children Residing on Indian Lands, Public Law 81-874.

Science.gov (United States)

Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (ED), Washington, DC.

Created in 1950, the Impact Aid program provides financial assistance to local education agencies (LEAs) in areas affected by federal activity. The program gives a direct general aid payment to LEAs that: (1) have lost local revenue as a result of land purchases by the federal government; (2) provide education to children who reside on federal…

Assessing business responses to HIV / AIDS in Kenya.

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, M; Wangombe, J

1995-01-01

A consulting firm conducted interviews with managers of 16 businesses in 3 Kenyan cities, representatives of 2 trade unions, focus groups with workers at 13 companies, and an analysis of financial/labor data from 4 companies. It then did a needs assessment. The business types were light industry, manufacturing companies, tourism organizations, transport firms, agro-industrial and plantation businesses, and the service industry. Only one company followed all the workplace policy principles recommended by the World Health Organization and the International Labor Organization. Six businesses required all applicants and/or employees to undergo HIV testing. All their managers claimed that they would not discriminate against HIV-infected workers. Many workers thought that they would be fired if they were--or were suspected to be--HIV positive. Lack of a non-discrimination policy brings about worker mistrust of management. 11 companies had some type of HIV/AIDS education program. All the programs generated positive feedback. The main reasons for not providing HIV/AIDS education for the remaining 5 companies were: no employee requests, fears that it would be taboo, and assumptions that workers could receive adequate information elsewhere. More than 90% of all companies distributed condoms. 60% offered sexually transmitted disease diagnosis and treatment. About 33% offered counseling. Four companies provided volunteer HIV testing. Almost 50% of companies received financial or other external support for their programs. Most managers thought AIDS to be a problem mainly with manual staff and not with professional staff. Almost all businesses offered some medical benefits. The future impact of HIV/AIDS would be $90/employee/year (by 2005, $260) due to health care costs, absenteeism, retraining, and burial benefits. The annual costs of a comprehensive workplace HIV/AIDS prevention program varied from $18 to $54/worker at one company.

The implications of aid as a financial flow amidst global imbalances

NARCIS (Netherlands)

A.M. Fischer (Andrew Martín)

2011-01-01

textabstractWithout denying the potential for publically-funded redistribution, as is done by market-advocates, we must acknowledge that the existing international aid architecture has largely failed in its purpose of inducing any significant degree of wealth redistribution between North and South,

Image registration with auto-mapped control volumes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schreibmann, Eduard; Xing Lei

2006-01-01

Many image registration algorithms rely on the use of homologous control points on the two input image sets to be registered. In reality, the interactive identification of the control points on both images is tedious, difficult, and often a source of error. We propose a two-step algorithm to automatically identify homologous regions that are used as a priori information during the image registration procedure. First, a number of small control volumes having distinct anatomical features are identified on the model image in a somewhat arbitrary fashion. Instead of attempting to find their correspondences in the reference image through user interaction, in the proposed method, each of the control regions is mapped to the corresponding part of the reference image by using an automated image registration algorithm. A normalized cross-correlation (NCC) function or mutual information was used as the auto-mapping metric and a limited memory Broyden-Fletcher-Goldfarb-Shanno algorithm (L-BFGS) was employed to optimize the function to find the optimal mapping. For rigid registration, the transformation parameters of the system are obtained by averaging that derived from the individual control volumes. In our deformable calculation, the mapped control volumes are treated as the nodes or control points with known positions on the two images. If the number of control volumes is not enough to cover the whole image to be registered, additional nodes are placed on the model image and then located on the reference image in a manner similar to the conventional BSpline deformable calculation. For deformable registration, the established correspondence by the auto-mapped control volumes provides valuable guidance for the registration calculation and greatly reduces the dimensionality of the problem. The performance of the two-step registrations was applied to three rigid registration cases (two PET-CT registrations and a brain MRI-CT registration) and one deformable registration of

FINANCIAL REPORTING: PERFORMANCE AND FAIR VALUE THE CASE OF THE EUROPEAN BANKING SECTOR

OpenAIRE

Elisabeth Combes-Thuelin; Lionel Escaffre

2003-01-01

International audience; Regarding financial reporting, information about performances is one of the preferred items banking institutions are referring to. Therefore, quantitative and qualitative performance indicators are a significant part of annual reports. Reporting about performances raises some other issues: valuation at cost or at fair value, registration versus disclosure. In the case of the banking industry, the accounting information disclosed is all the more important as this sector...

46 CFR 402.220 - Registration of pilots.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 8 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Registration of pilots. 402.220 Section 402.220 Shipping... ORDERS Registration of Pilots § 402.220 Registration of pilots. (a) Each applicant pilot must complete the number of round trips specified in this section prior to registration as a U.S. registered pilot...

Chronicity, crisis, and the 'end of AIDS'.

Science.gov (United States)

Sangaramoorthy, Thurka

2018-01-11

In biomedical, public health, and popular discourses, the 'end of AIDS' has emerged as a predominant way to understand the future of HIV research and prevention. This approach is predicated on structuring and responding to HIV in ways that underscore its presumed lifelong nature. In this article, I examine the phenomenon of HIV chronicity that undergirds the 'end of AIDS' discourse. In particular, I explore how the logic of HIV chronicity, induced by technological advances in treatment and global financial and political investments, intensifies long-term uncertainty and prolonged crisis. Focusing on over 10 years of anthropological and public health research in the United States, I argue that HIV chronicity, and subsequently, the 'end of AIDS' discourse, obscure the on-going HIV crisis in particular global communities, especially among marginalised and ageing populations who live in under-resourced areas. By tracing the 'end of AIDS' discourse in my field sites and in other global locations, I describe how HIV chronicity signals a continuing global crisis and persistent social precarity rather than a 'break' with a hopeless past or a promising future free from AIDS.

A novel 3D volumetric voxel registration technique for volume-view-guided image registration of multiple imaging modalities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Guang; Xie Huchen; Ning, Holly; Capala, Jacek; Arora, Barbara C.; Coleman, C. Norman; Camphausen, Kevin; Miller, Robert W.

2005-01-01

Purpose: To provide more clinically useful image registration with improved accuracy and reduced time, a novel technique of three-dimensional (3D) volumetric voxel registration of multimodality images is developed. Methods and Materials: This technique can register up to four concurrent images from multimodalities with volume view guidance. Various visualization effects can be applied, facilitating global and internal voxel registration. Fourteen computed tomography/magnetic resonance (CT/MR) image sets and two computed tomography/positron emission tomography (CT/PET) image sets are used. For comparison, an automatic registration technique using maximization of mutual information (MMI) and a three-orthogonal-planar (3P) registration technique are used. Results: Visually sensitive registration criteria for CT/MR and CT/PET have been established, including the homogeneity of color distribution. Based on the registration results of 14 CT/MR images, the 3D voxel technique is in excellent agreement with the automatic MMI technique and is indicatory of a global positioning error (defined as the means and standard deviations of the error distribution) using the 3P pixel technique: 1.8 deg ± 1.2 deg in rotation and 2.0 ± 1.3 (voxel unit) in translation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that such positioning error has been addressed. Conclusion: This novel 3D voxel technique establishes volume-view-guided image registration of up to four modalities. It improves registration accuracy with reduced time, compared with the 3P pixel technique. This article suggests that any interactive and automatic registration should be safeguarded using the 3D voxel technique

Spherical Demons: Fast Surface Registration

Science.gov (United States)

Yeo, B.T. Thomas; Sabuncu, Mert; Vercauteren, Tom; Ayache, Nicholas; Fischl, Bruce; Golland, Polina

2009-01-01

We present the fast Spherical Demons algorithm for registering two spherical images. By exploiting spherical vector spline interpolation theory, we show that a large class of regularizers for the modified demons objective function can be efficiently implemented on the sphere using convolution. Based on the one parameter subgroups of diffeomorphisms, the resulting registration is diffeomorphic and fast – registration of two cortical mesh models with more than 100k nodes takes less than 5 minutes, comparable to the fastest surface registration algorithms. Moreover, the accuracy of our method compares favorably to the popular FreeSurfer registration algorithm. We validate the technique in two different settings: (1) parcellation in a set of in-vivo cortical surfaces and (2) Brodmann area localization in ex-vivo cortical surfaces. PMID:18979813

32 CFR 634.19 - Registration policy.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 32 National Defense 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Registration policy. 634.19 Section 634.19 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY (CONTINUED) LAW ENFORCEMENT AND CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS MOTOR VEHICLE TRAFFIC SUPERVISION Motor Vehicle Registration § 634.19 Registration policy. (a) Motor vehicles will be...

Women and AIDS.

Science.gov (United States)

Seghal, P N

1991-04-01

In this article, Dr. P.N. Sehgal, former director of the National Institute of Communicable Diseases in Delhi, explains the steps that women need to take to protect themselves against AIDS and discusses some issues facing women who have already contracted the disease. Because of women's lack of status in the family and society, it is harder for them to ensure their safety. Women based at home often lack information on AIDS, and those women who are informed sometimes depend on their male partner for financial support, which means that they are forced to engage in unsafe sexual practices. Safer sexual practices can reduce the risk for women. Though varying in degree of safety, some safer practices include: monogamous relationships between uninfected partners; the use of condoms for all types of sexual intercourse; non-penetrative sex practices (hugging, kissing, masturbating); reducing the number of sexual partners; avoiding sex when either of the partners has open sores or any STD. Pregnant women should also receive information concerning AIDS, including: a baby born from an HIV-infected mother has a 20-40% of being infected; the risk of transmission is higher when the mother already shows signs of AIDS; and an infected baby may die within the first few years of life. the HIV transmission may occur prepartum or during birth itself, but the risk of transmission from breastfeeding is extremely low. Dr. Sehgal stresses the need for privacy and confidentiality when dealing with carriers of the disease or when carrying out HIV testing. Above all, the rights of HIV-infected people must be protected.

The First 500 Registrations to the Research Registry®: Advancing Registration of Under-registered Study Types

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Riaz Agha

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The Declaration of Helsinki 2013 encourages the registration of all research studies involving human participants. However, emphasis has been placed on prospective clinical trials, and it is estimated that only 10% of observational studies are registered. In response, Research Registry® was launched in February 2015; a retrospectively curated registry that is free and easy to use. Research Registry® enables prospective or retrospective registration of studies, including those study types that cannot be registered on existing registries. In this study, we describe the first 500 registrations on Research Registry®.Since the launch of Research Registry® in February 2015, data of registrations have been collected, including type of studies registered, country of origin and data curation activity. Inappropriate registrations, such as duplicates, were identified by the data curation process. These were removed from the database or modified as required. A quality score was assigned for each registration, based on Bradford-Hill’s criteria on what research studies should convey. Changes in quality scores over time were assessed. 500 studies were registered on Research Registry® from February 2015 to October 2015, with a total of 1.7 million patients enrolled. The most common study types were retrospective cohort studies (37.2%, case series (14.8% and first-in-man case reports (10.4%. Registrations were received from 57 different countries; the most submissions were received from Turkey, followed by China and the United Kingdom. Retrospective data curation identified 80 studies that were initially registered as the incorrect study type, and were subsequently correct. The Kruskal-Wallis test identified a significant improvement in quality scores for registrations from February 2015 to October 2015 (p < 0.0001.Since its conception in February 2015, Research Registry® has established itself as a new registry that is free, easy to use and enables the

The First 500 Registrations to the Research Registry®: Advancing Registration of Under-Registered Study Types.

Science.gov (United States)

Agha, Riaz; Fowler, Alexander J; Limb, Christopher; Al Omran, Yasser; Sagoo, Harkiran; Koshy, Kiron; Jafree, Daniyal J; Anwar, Mohammed Omer; McCullogh, Peter; Orgill, Dennis Paul

2016-01-01

The Declaration of Helsinki 2013 encourages the registration of all research studies involving human participants. However, emphasis has been placed on prospective clinical trials, and it is estimated that only 10% of observational studies are registered. In response, Research Registry ® was launched in February 2015; a retrospectively curated registry that is free and easy to use. Research Registry ® enables prospective or retrospective registration of studies, including those study types that cannot be registered on existing registries. In this study, we describe the first 500 registrations on Research Registry ® . Since the launch of Research Registry ® in February 2015, data of registrations have been collected, including type of studies registered, country of origin, and data curation activity. Inappropriate registrations, such as duplicates, were identified by the data curation process. These were removed from the database or modified as required. A quality score was assigned for each registration, based on Sir Austin Bradford Hill's criteria on what research studies should convey. Changes in quality scores over time were assessed. A total of 500 studies were registered on Research Registry ® from February 2015 to October 2015, with a total of 1.7 million patients enrolled. The most common study types were retrospective cohort studies (37.2%), case series (14.8%), and first-in-man case reports (10.4%). Registrations were received from 57 different countries; the most submissions were received from Turkey, followed by China and the United Kingdom. Retrospective data curation identified 80 studies that were initially registered as the incorrect study type, and were subsequently correct. The Kruskal-Wallis test identified a significant improvement in quality scores for registrations from February 2015 to October 2015 ( p  < 0.0001). Since its conception in February 2015, Research Registry ® has established itself as a new registry that is free, easy to

Victoria's review of registration for health practitioners.

Science.gov (United States)

Scotts, H; Carter, M

1988-01-01

This article discusses some of the issues raised in the Interim Report of the current Review of Registration of Health Practitioners being conducted for the Victorian Health Department. The Report attempts to develop the framework in which the registration Boards will operate as part of a cohesive registration system. It proposed a mechanism and criteria for the registration of new groups as well as principles which can be applied to the ongoing review of each existing Board. The Review takes the perspective that registration of health practitioners carries with it both advantages and disadvantages for the general community. Under the proposed new system the controls exercised over health care providers by Registration Boards would be evaluated on the basis of to what extent the benefits to the public outweighed the potential costs. It is in this context that the Report addresses issues such as consumer complaints handling, registration of individual practitioners and controls over professional advertising and other business practices.

Assisting informed decision making for labour analgesia: a randomised controlled trial of a decision aid for labour analgesia versus a pamphlet

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Torvaldsen Siranda

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Most women use some method of pain relief during labour. There is extensive research evidence available of pharmacological pain relief during labour; however this evidence is not readily available to pregnant women. Decision aids are tools that present evidence based information and allow preference elicitation. Methods We developed a labour analgesia decision aid. Using a RCT design women either received a decision aid or a pamphlet. Eligible women were primiparous, ≥ 37 weeks, planning a vaginal birth of a single infant and had sufficient English to complete the trial materials. We used a combination of affective (anxiety, satisfaction and participation in decision-making and behavioural outcomes (intention and analgesia use to assess the impact of the decision aid, which were assessed before labour. Results 596 women were randomised (395 decision aid group, 201 pamphlet group. There were significant differences in knowledge scores between the decision aid group and the pamphlet group (mean difference 8.6, 95% CI 3.70, 13.40. There were no differences between decisional conflict scores (mean difference -0.99 (95% CI -3.07, 1.07, or anxiety (mean difference 0.3, 95% CI -2.15, 1.50. The decision aid group were significantly more likely to consider their care providers opinion (RR 1.28 95%CI 0.64, 0.95. There were no differences in analgesia use and poor follow through between antenatal analgesia intentions and use. Conclusions This decision aid improves women's labour analgesia knowledge without increasing anxiety. Significantly, the decision aid group were more informed of labour analgesia options, and considered the opinion of their care providers more often when making their analgesia decisions, thus improving informed decision making. Trial Registration Trial registration no: ISRCTN52287533

Locally orderless registration code

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2012-01-01

This is code for the TPAMI paper "Locally Orderless Registration". The code requires intel threadding building blocks installed and is provided for 64 bit on mac, linux and windows.......This is code for the TPAMI paper "Locally Orderless Registration". The code requires intel threadding building blocks installed and is provided for 64 bit on mac, linux and windows....

Financial Aid and College Persistence: Do Student Loans Help or Hurt?

Science.gov (United States)

Herzog, Serge

2018-01-01

Using data from two freshmen cohorts at a public research university (N = 3730), this study examines the relationship between loan aid and second-year enrollment persistence. Applying a counterfactual analytical framework that relies on propensity score (PS) weighting and matching to address selection bias associated with treatment status, the…

Creating financial transparency in public health: examining best practices of system partners.

Science.gov (United States)

Honoré, Peggy A; Clarke, Richard L; Mead, Dean Michael; Menditto, Susan M

2007-01-01

Financial transparency is based on concepts for valid, standardized information that is readily accessible and routinely disseminated to stakeholders. While Congress and others continuously ask for an accounting of public health investments, transparency remains an ignored concept. The objective of this study was to examine financial transparency practices in other industries considered as part of the public health system. Key informants, regarded as financial experts on the operations of hospitals, school systems, and higher education, were a primary source of information. Principal findings were that system partners have espoused some concepts for financial transparency beginning in the early 20th century--signifying an 80-year implementation gap for public health. Critical features that promote accountability included standardized data collection methods and infrastructures, uniform practices for quantitative analysis of financial performance, and credentialing of the financial management workforce. Recommendations are offered on the basis of these findings to aid public health to close this gap by framing a movement toward transparency.

Medical Image Registration and Surgery Simulation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bro-Nielsen, Morten

1996-01-01

This thesis explores the application of physical models in medical image registration and surgery simulation. The continuum models of elasticity and viscous fluids are described in detail, and this knowledge is used as a basis for most of the methods described here. Real-time deformable models......, and the use of selective matrix vector multiplication. Fluid medical image registration A new and faster algorithm for non-rigid registration using viscous fluid models is presented. This algorithm replaces the core part of the original algorithm with multi-resolution convolution using a new filter, which...... growth is also presented. Using medical knowledge about the growth processes of the mandibular bone, a registration algorithm for time sequence images of the mandible is developed. Since this registration algorithm models the actual development of the mandible, it is possible to simulate the development...

Ocular manifestations in HIV-AIDS patients in a Nigerian community

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2011-11-23

Nov 23, 2011 ... on limited financial, medical and human resources.3,4 The first HIV ... acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) among the study population. Method: A ... medical outpatient centre and the eye clinic of the hospital. ..... Energy Information Administration: official energy statistics from the US Government.

Medical image registration for analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petrovic, V.

2006-01-01

Full text: Image registration techniques represent a rich family of image processing and analysis tools that aim to provide spatial correspondences across sets of medical images of similar and disparate anatomies and modalities. Image registration is a fundamental and usually the first step in medical image analysis and this paper presents a number of advanced techniques as well as demonstrates some of the advanced medical image analysis techniques they make possible. A number of both rigid and non-rigid medical image alignment algorithms of equivalent and merely consistent anatomical structures respectively are presented. The algorithms are compared in terms of their practical aims, inputs, computational complexity and level of operator (e.g. diagnostician) interaction. In particular, the focus of the methods discussion is placed on the applications and practical benefits of medical image registration. Results of medical image registration on a number of different imaging modalities and anatomies are presented demonstrating the accuracy and robustness of their application. Medical image registration is quickly becoming ubiquitous in medical imaging departments with the results of such algorithms increasingly used in complex medical image analysis and diagnostics. This paper aims to demonstrate at least part of the reason why

Pocket Cartoons: Learning Financial Literacy with Mobile Cartoons in Malaysia

Science.gov (United States)

Khoo, Yin Yin; Malim, Tanjung; Fitzgerald, Robert

2017-01-01

This study examines the impact of using cartoons shared through mobile devices to promote awareness and to aid in the development of financial literacy among Economics students in Malaysia. The study also investigates the use of these "mobile cartoons" to develop students' communication skills. The study involved a quasi-experimental…

Genetic Algorithms and Nucleation in VIH-AIDS transition.

Science.gov (United States)

Barranon, Armando

2003-03-01

VIH to AIDS transition has been modeled via a genetic algorithm that uses boom-boom principle and where population evolution is simulated with a cellular automaton based on SIR model. VIH to AIDS transition is signed by nucleation of infected cells and low probability of infection are obtained for different mutation rates in agreement with clinical results. A power law is obtained with a critical exponent close to the critical exponent of cubic, spherical percolation, colossal magnetic resonance, Ising Model and liquid-gas phase transition in heavy ion collisions. Computations were carried out at UAM-A Supercomputing Lab and author acknowledges financial support from Division of CBI at UAM-A.

Analysis of Cost Impact of HIV/AIDS on Health Service Provision in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Key words: HIV/AIDS, poverty, burden-of-disease, cost-analysis, Tanzania. Background ..... However, several statements were quoted verbatim as they were given by the ... of proper financial recording system at most of the. HFs made it ...

Surface-based prostate registration with biomechanical regularization

Science.gov (United States)

van de Ven, Wendy J. M.; Hu, Yipeng; Barentsz, Jelle O.; Karssemeijer, Nico; Barratt, Dean; Huisman, Henkjan J.

2013-03-01

Adding MR-derived information to standard transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) images for guiding prostate biopsy is of substantial clinical interest. A tumor visible on MR images can be projected on ultrasound by using MRUS registration. A common approach is to use surface-based registration. We hypothesize that biomechanical modeling will better control deformation inside the prostate than a regular surface-based registration method. We developed a novel method by extending a surface-based registration with finite element (FE) simulation to better predict internal deformation of the prostate. For each of six patients, a tetrahedral mesh was constructed from the manual prostate segmentation. Next, the internal prostate deformation was simulated using the derived radial surface displacement as boundary condition. The deformation field within the gland was calculated using the predicted FE node displacements and thin-plate spline interpolation. We tested our method on MR guided MR biopsy imaging data, as landmarks can easily be identified on MR images. For evaluation of the registration accuracy we used 45 anatomical landmarks located in all regions of the prostate. Our results show that the median target registration error of a surface-based registration with biomechanical regularization is 1.88 mm, which is significantly different from 2.61 mm without biomechanical regularization. We can conclude that biomechanical FE modeling has the potential to improve the accuracy of multimodal prostate registration when comparing it to regular surface-based registration.

International Monetary Fund and aid displacement.

Science.gov (United States)

Stuckler, David; Basu, Sanjay; McKee, Martin

2011-01-01

Several recent papers find evidence that global health aid is being diverted to reserves, education, military, or other sectors, and is displacing government spending. This is suggested to occur because ministers of finance have competing, possibly corrupt, priorities and deprive the health sector of resources. Studies have found that development assistance for health routed to governments has a negative impact on health spending and that similar assistance routed to private nongovernmental organizations has a positive impact. An alternative hypothesis is that World Bank and IMF macro-economic policies, which specifically advise governments to divert aid to reserves to cope with aid volatility and keep government spending low, could be causing the displacement of health aid. This article evaluates whether aid displacement was greater when countries undertook a new borrowing program from the IMF between 1996 and 2006. As found in existing studies, for each $1 of development assistance for health, about $0.37 is added to the health system. However, evaluating IMF-borrowing versus non-IMF-borrowing countries reveals that non-borrowers add about $0.45 whereas borrowers add less than $0.01 to the health system. On average, health system spending grew at about half the speed when countries were exposed to the IMF than when they were not. It is important to take account of the political economy of global health finance when interpreting data on financial flows.

40 CFR 68.160 - Registration.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Risk Management Plan § 68.160 Registration. (a) The owner or operator shall... substances handled in covered processes. (b) The registration shall include the following data: (1...

Registration of Laser Scanning Point Clouds: A Review

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Liang; Chen, Song; Xu, Hao; Wu, Yang; Li, Manchun

2018-01-01

The integration of multi-platform, multi-angle, and multi-temporal LiDAR data has become important for geospatial data applications. This paper presents a comprehensive review of LiDAR data registration in the fields of photogrammetry and remote sensing. At present, a coarse-to-fine registration strategy is commonly used for LiDAR point clouds registration. The coarse registration method is first used to achieve a good initial position, based on which registration is then refined utilizing the fine registration method. According to the coarse-to-fine framework, this paper reviews current registration methods and their methodologies, and identifies important differences between them. The lack of standard data and unified evaluation systems is identified as a factor limiting objective comparison of different methods. The paper also describes the most commonly-used point cloud registration error analysis methods. Finally, avenues for future work on LiDAR data registration in terms of applications, data, and technology are discussed. In particular, there is a need to address registration of multi-angle and multi-scale data from various newly available types of LiDAR hardware, which will play an important role in diverse applications such as forest resource surveys, urban energy use, cultural heritage protection, and unmanned vehicles.

Adoption of workplaces and reach of employees for a multi-faceted intervention targeting low back pain among nurses' aides

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Charlotte Diana Nørregaard; Larsen, Anne Konring; Holtermann, Andreas

2014-01-01

and work environment intervention targeting low back pain among nurses' aides in elderly care. METHODS: Percentage of adopters was calculated among eligible workplaces and differences between adopters and non-adopters were evaluated through workplace registrations and manager questionnaires from all...... physical exertion during work compared to non-consenters. CONCLUSIONS: Our recruitment effort yielded a population of consenters that was representative of the target population of nurses' aides with respect to demographic factors, and health. Moreover more consenters had problems like pain and high...

Optical registration of spaceborne low light remote sensing camera

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Chong-yang; Hao, Yan-hui; Xu, Peng-mei; Wang, Dong-jie; Ma, Li-na; Zhao, Ying-long

2018-02-01

For the high precision requirement of spaceborne low light remote sensing camera optical registration, optical registration of dual channel for CCD and EMCCD is achieved by the high magnification optical registration system. System integration optical registration and accuracy of optical registration scheme for spaceborne low light remote sensing camera with short focal depth and wide field of view is proposed in this paper. It also includes analysis of parallel misalignment of CCD and accuracy of optical registration. Actual registration results show that imaging clearly, MTF and accuracy of optical registration meet requirements, it provide important guarantee to get high quality image data in orbit.

Policy issues raised by intervenor requests for financial assistance in NRC proceedings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1975-01-01

The purpose of the report presented is to focus and develop the myriad issues raised by intervenor requests for financial assistance for the NRC's proposed rulemaking proceeding. The report analyzes and assesses the various alternatives open to the Commission, and collects relevant data and material which may be informative to those participating in and conducting the rulemaking. Three major questions are examined: (1) should the Commission, as a matter of policy choice, provide financial assistance to intervenors in NRC proceedings; (2) are there preferable alternatives to direct intervenor financial aid, such as the establishment of an office of public counsel or provision of other forms of Commission assistance; and (3) what are the legal, administrative and policy considerations involved in implementing a determination to award financial assistance to intervenors, should the Commission so decide

Skull registration for prone patient position using tracked ultrasound

Science.gov (United States)

Underwood, Grace; Ungi, Tamas; Baum, Zachary; Lasso, Andras; Kronreif, Gernot; Fichtinger, Gabor

2017-03-01

PURPOSE: Tracked navigation has become prevalent in neurosurgery. Problems with registration of a patient and a preoperative image arise when the patient is in a prone position. Surfaces accessible to optical tracking on the back of the head are unreliable for registration. We investigated the accuracy of surface-based registration using points accessible through tracked ultrasound. Using ultrasound allows access to bone surfaces that are not available through optical tracking. Tracked ultrasound could eliminate the need to work (i) under the table for registration and (ii) adjust the tracker between surgery and registration. In addition, tracked ultrasound could provide a non-invasive method in comparison to an alternative method of registration involving screw implantation. METHODS: A phantom study was performed to test the feasibility of tracked ultrasound for registration. An initial registration was performed to partially align the pre-operative computer tomography data and skull phantom. The initial registration was performed by an anatomical landmark registration. Surface points accessible by tracked ultrasound were collected and used to perform an Iterative Closest Point Algorithm. RESULTS: When the surface registration was compared to a ground truth landmark registration, the average TRE was found to be 1.6+/-0.1mm and the average distance of points off the skull surface was 0.6+/-0.1mm. CONCLUSION: The use of tracked ultrasound is feasible for registration of patients in prone position and eliminates the need to perform registration under the table. The translational component of error found was minimal. Therefore, the amount of TRE in registration is due to a rotational component of error.

Registration of central paths and colonic polyps between supine and prone scans in computed tomography colonography: Pilot study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Ping; Napel, Sandy; Acar, Burak; Paik, David S.; Jeffrey, R. Brooke Jr.; Beaulieu, Christopher F.

2004-01-01

Computed tomography colonography (CTC) is a minimally invasive method that allows the evaluation of the colon wall from CT sections of the abdomen/pelvis. The primary goal of CTC is to detect colonic polyps, precursors to colorectal cancer. Because imperfect cleansing and distension can cause portions of the colon wall to be collapsed, covered with water, and/or covered with retained stool, patients are scanned in both prone and supine positions. We believe that both reading efficiency and computer aided detection (CAD) of CTC images can be improved by accurate registration of data from the supine and prone positions. We developed a two-stage approach that first registers the colonic central paths using a heuristic and automated algorithm and then matches polyps or polyp candidates (CAD hits) by a statistical approach. We evaluated the registration algorithm on 24 patient cases. After path registration, the mean misalignment distance between prone and supine identical anatomic landmarks was reduced from 47.08 to 12.66 mm, a 73% improvement. The polyp registration algorithm was specifically evaluated using eight patient cases for which radiologists identified polyps separately for both supine and prone data sets, and then manually registered corresponding pairs. The algorithm correctly matched 78% of these pairs without user input. The algorithm was also applied to the 30 highest-scoring CAD hits in the prone and supine scans and showed a success rate of 50% in automatically registering corresponding polyp pairs. Finally, we computed the average number of CAD hits that need to be manually compared in order to find the correct matches among the top 30 CAD hits. With polyp registration, the average number of comparisons was 1.78 per polyp, as opposed to 4.28 comparisons without polyp registration

Financial history and financial economics

OpenAIRE

Turner, John D.

2014-01-01

This essay looks at the bidirectional relationship between financial history and financial economics. It begins by giving a brief history of financial economics by outlining the main topics of interest to financial economists. It then documents and explains the increasing influence of financial economics upon financial history, and warns of the dangers of applying financial economics unthinkingly to the study of financial history. The essay proceeds to highlight the many insights that financi...

Solid Mesh Registration for Radiotherapy Treatment Planning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Noe, Karsten Østergaard; Sørensen, Thomas Sangild

2010-01-01

We present an algorithm for solid organ registration of pre-segmented data represented as tetrahedral meshes. Registration of the organ surface is driven by force terms based on a distance field representation of the source and reference shapes. Registration of internal morphology is achieved usi...

[Ideas about registration for sodium hyaluronate facial derma fillers].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Peng; Shi, Xinli; Liu, Wenbo; Lu, Hong

2012-09-01

To review the registration and technical data for sodium hyaluronate facial derma fillers. Recent literature concerning registration for sodium hyaluronate facial derma fillers was reviewed and analyzed. The aspects on registration for sodium hyaluronate facial derma fillers include nominating the product, dividing registration unit, filling in a registration application form, preparing the technical data, developing the standard, and developing a registration specification. The main difficulty in registration is how to prepare the research data of that product, so the manufacturers need to enhance their basic research ability and work out a scientific technique routing which could ensure the safety and effectiveness of the product, also help to set up the supportive documents to medical device registration.

Pro Forma Registration of Companies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Werlauff, Erik

2010-01-01

The article analyses the view taken by Community law on companies' pro forma registration in another EU or EEA country. Community law recognises pro forma registration under company law, i.e. a brass plate is sufficient, whereas it does not recognise pro forma registration under tax law, i.......e. a brass plate is not sufficient. The article provides reasons for the differential treatment of the two contexts and clarifies the difference on the basis of the Hubbard criterion, in which it was ruled that the effectiveness of Community law cannot vary according to the various branches of national law....

Commodification of Higher Education: Students, Study Loan Systems and State Aid

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoogenboom, Alexander

2015-01-01

The main argument presented in this paper is that the application of economic principles in the higher education sector, turning higher education institutes into undertakings operating on markets, leads to the application of rules on State aid. This has consequences for the financial support systems

SUPERCOMPUTERS FOR AIDING ECONOMIC PROCESSES WITH REFERENCE TO THE FINANCIAL SECTOR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jerzy Balicki

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The article discusses the use of supercomputers to support business processes with particular emphasis on the financial sector. A reference was made to the selected projects that support economic development. In particular, we propose the use of supercomputers to perform artificial intel-ligence methods in banking. The proposed methods combined with modern technology enables a significant increase in the competitiveness of enterprises and banks by adding new functionality.

Mandela calls for greater commitment and leadership in fighting AIDS. The World Economic Forum -- Policy and business in a world of HIV / AIDS.

Science.gov (United States)

Macinnis R

1997-01-01

The 27th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on February 3, 1997, was attended by 2000 political and financial leaders of countries and businesses around the world. The forum is the world's largest annual gathering of economic and political dignitaries. In his address to the forum, Nelson Mandela, president of South Africa, called for a global effort against AIDS and a strengthening of the world's political and business leaders' commitment against HIV/AIDS. The disease is creating global economic problems by affecting people in their prime productive and reproductive years. Mandela criticized political leaders for their limited actions in addressing the AIDS pandemic and called upon the world's business community to support government AIDS programs and help people affected by AIDS. All sectors and all spheres of society must be involved as equal partners in the war against HIV/AIDS, for neither the health sector nor government can meet the challenge on its own. If current HIV/AIDS trends continue in South Africa, AIDS will cost the country 1% of its domestic gross product by the year 2005, and up to 75% of the country's budget will be consumed by direct health costs related to HIV/AIDS. At a panel discussion preceding President Mandela's address, Dr. Peter Piot, executive director of UNAIDS, argued that the AIDS pandemic could have a devastating effect upon the global economy and urged business leaders to take strong action against the disease.

Fiducial-based registration with a touchable region model.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Sungmin; Kazanzides, Peter

2017-02-01

Image-guided surgery requires registration between an image coordinate system and an intraoperative coordinate system that is typically referenced to a tracking device. In fiducial-based registration methods, this is achieved by localizing points (fiducials) in each coordinate system. Often, both localizations are performed manually, first by picking a fiducial point in the image and then by using a hand-held tracked pointer to physically touch the corresponding fiducial on the patient. These manual procedures introduce localization error that is user-dependent and can significantly decrease registration accuracy. Thus, there is a need for a registration method that is tolerant of imprecise fiducial localization in the preoperative and intraoperative phases. We propose the iterative closest touchable point (ICTP) registration framework, which uses model-based localization and a touchable region model. This method consists of three stages: (1) fiducial marker localization in image space, using a fiducial marker model, (2) initial registration with paired-point registration, and (3) fine registration based on the iterative closest point method. We perform phantom experiments with a fiducial marker design that is commonly used in neurosurgery. The results demonstrate that ICTP can provide accuracy improvements compared to the standard paired-point registration method that is widely used for surgical navigation and surgical robot systems, especially in cases where the surgeon introduces large localization errors. The results demonstrate that the proposed method can reduce the effect of the surgeon's localization performance on the accuracy of registration, thereby producing more consistent and less user-dependent registration outcomes.

Managing Assets Of Agricultural Property Of The National Treasury In The Context Of State Aid Granted By The Agricultural Property Agency

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lizińska Wiesława

2015-09-01

Full Text Available This study covers the issue of activities of the Agricultural Property Agency in terms of state aid in the form of non-repayable financial aid, with the following specific objectives: determining the scale and diversity of state aid granted by the APA (including the local branch in Olsztyn, evaluating the current technical condition of some of the assets and their condition upon being handed over by the APA, determining their importance, main problems associated with resources which are taken over, identifying and assessing the importance of actions which encourage communes to take over property still held by the APA, assessing the scale and procedure of aid granted in the opinion of representatives of APA units. The article makes use of information obtained from the local branch of the APA in Olsztyn in the years 2003-2014. A direct survey among the entities was taken. The survey questionnaire was sent in 2014 to all communes (gminas of the Province (Voivodeship of Warmia and Mazury (116 units. Completed questionnaires were returned by 73 representatives of the communes. A total of PLN 327.1 million was allotted in the Agency’s financial plans for the program of non-repayable financial aid during the period from 2009 to 2014. Approximately 81.6% of PLN 164.4 million granted by the local branch of the APA in Olsztyn, was granted to units of the public finance sector. As was shown in the survey conducted among representatives of local governments, the interest of communes in taking over assets still held by2 the local branch of the APA in Olsztyn could be increased by limiting the number of tenants who do not pay the rent regularly and by increasing the amount of non-repayable financial aid. It is possible to carry out the latter action, but the former could prove to be extremely difficult.

Financial sector taxation: Financial activities tax or financial transaction tax?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Danuše Nerudová

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The recent financial crises has revealed the need to improve and ensure the stability of the financial sector to reduce negative externalities, to ensure fair and substantial contribution of the financial sector to the public finances and the need to consolidate public finance. All those needs represent substantial arguments for the discussion about the introduction of financial sector taxation. There are discussed in the paper two possible schemes of financial sector taxation – financial transaction tax and financial activities tax. The aim of the paper is to research the possibility of the introduction of financial sector taxation, to discuss the pros and cons of two major candidates on financial sector taxation – financial transaction tax and financial activities tax and to suggest the possible candidate suitable for the implementation on the EU level. Financial transaction tax represents the tool suitable mainly on global level, for only in that case enables generate sufficient financial resources. From EU point of view is considered as less suitable, for it bears the risk of reallocation. Therefore the introduction of financial activities tax on EU level is considered as a better solution for the financial sector taxation in the EU, for financial sector is exempted from value added tax. With respect to the fact, that the implementation would represent the innovative approach to the financial sector taxation, there are no empirical proves and therefore this could be the subject of further research.

40 CFR 152.115 - Conditions of registration.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... specify any provisions for sale and distribution of existing stocks of the pesticide product. (3) The... PESTICIDE REGISTRATION AND CLASSIFICATION PROCEDURES Agency Review of Applications § 152.115 Conditions of registration. (a) Substantially similar products and new uses. Each registration issued under § 152.113 shall...

Integrated human rights and poverty eradication strategy: the case of civil registration rights in Zimbabwe.

Science.gov (United States)

Musarandega, Reuben

2009-01-01

High poverty levels characterise sub-Saharan Africa, Zimbabwe included. Over 80 per cent of Zimbabwe's population lived below the total consumption poverty line and 70 per cent below the food poverty line in 2003. This plummeting of social indicators resulted from the freefall suffered by the country's economy from the 1990s, after unsuccessful attempts to implement structural adjustment programmes prescribed by international financial institutions. The ensuing socioeconomic decay, political crisis and international isolation of the country from the late 1990s reversed gains made in social indicators during the 1980s. Development theories attribute poverty to unchecked population growth, political, economic and environmental mismanagement, while developing countries' leaders attribute it to historical imbalances and global political and economic injustices. Despite this debate, poverty continues to evolve, expand and deepen and the need to eradicate it has become urgent. The complex question of what causes and what drives poverty is perpetually addressed and new ideas are emerging to answer the question. One recent view is that failure to centre development on people and to declare poverty a violation of human rights has allowed poverty to grow the world over. This study uses a hypothesised cause of poverty - civil registration - to exemplify the human right nature of poverty, and how a human rights' policy can be used as an instrument to eradicate poverty. The study demonstrates that civil registration is a right of instrumental relevance to poverty; and achieving civil registration grants people access to numerous other rights, some of which will lift them out of poverty, while the failure of civil registration deprives people of access to livelihoods, thereby entrenching them in poverty.

The Effect of Merit Aid on Enrollment: A Regression Discontinuity Analysis of Iowa's National Scholars Award

Science.gov (United States)

Leeds, Daniel M.; DesJardins, Stephen L.

2015-01-01

The cost of attending college has risen steadily over the past 30 years, making financial aid an important determinant of college choice for many students and a subject of concern for colleges and state governments. In this paper, we estimate the effect of rule-based merit aid assignment on students' enrollment decisions at the University of Iowa.…

Image registration: An essential part of radiation therapy treatment planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosenman, Julian G.; Miller, Elizabeth P.; Tracton, Gregg; Cullip, Tim J.

1998-01-01

Purpose: We believe that a three-dimensional (3D) registration of nonplanning (diagnostic) imaging data with the planning computed tomography (CT) offers a substantial improvement in tumor target identification for many radiation therapy patients. The purpose of this article is to review and discuss our experience to date. Methods and Materials: We reviewed the charts and treatment planning records of all patients that underwent 3D radiation treatment planning in our department from June 1994 to December 1995, to learn which patients had image registration performed and why it was thought they would benefit from this approach. We also measured how much error would have been introduced into the target definition if the nonplanning imaging data had not been available and only the planning CT had been used. Results: Between June 1994 and December 1995, 106 of 246 (43%) of patients undergoing 3D treatment planning had image registration. Four reasons for performing registration were identified. First, some tumor volumes have better definition on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) than on CT. Second, a properly contrasted diagnostic CT sometimes can show the tumor target better than can the planning CT. Third, the diagnostic CT or MR may have been preoperative, with the postoperative planning CT no longer showing the tumor. Fourth, the patient may have undergone cytoreductive chemotherapy so that the postchemotherapy planning CT no longer showed the original tumor volume. In patients in whom the planning CT did not show the tumor volume well an analysis was done to determine how the treatment plan was changed with the addition of a better tumor-defining nonplanning CT or MR. We have found that the use of this additional imaging modality changed the tumor location in the treatment plan at least 1.5 cm for half of the patients, and up to 3.0 cm for ((1)/(4)) of the patients. Conclusions: Multimodality and/or sequential imaging can substantially aid in better tumor

Venue-level correlates of female sex worker registration status: A multilevel analysis of bars in Tijuana, Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Gaines, Tommi L.; Rusch, Melanie L.A.; Brouwer, Kimberly C.; Goldenberg, Shira M.; Lozada, Remedios; Robertson, Angela M.; Perkins, Emily; Strathdee, Steffanie A.; Patterson, Thomas L.

2013-01-01

In Tijuana, Mexico, sex work is regulated by the municipal government, through registration cards issued to female sex workers (FSWs) for an annual fee. Registration has been associated with decreased drug use and increase condom use and HIV testing. Previously, it was demonstrated that FSWs operating in bars were more likely than street-based FSWs to be registered. This implies that certain venues may be more accessible to local authorities for the enforcement of this type of programme. Taking a novel multilevel approach, we examined whether venue characteristics of bars reflecting greater organised management and visibility affect registration status of FSWs. In an analysis of venue-level characteristics, predictors of being registered were availability of free condoms at work and distance to the main sex strip; however, these were not independently associated after inclusion of FSWs’ income, illicit drug use and history of HIV testing. Our findings suggest that sex work regulations may inadvertently exclude venues in which the more vulnerable and less visible FSWs, such as injection drug users and those with limited financial resources, are situated. Efforts to revise or reconsider sex work regulations to ensure that they best promote FSWs’ health, human and labour rights are recommended. PMID:23534477

Venue-level correlates of female sex worker registration status: a multilevel analysis of bars in Tijuana, Mexico.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaines, Tommi L; Rusch, Melanie L A; Brouwer, Kimberly C; Goldenberg, Shira M; Lozada, Remedios; Robertson, Angela M; Perkins, Emily; Strathdee, Steffanie A; Patterson, Thomas L

2013-01-01

In Tijuana, Mexico, sex work is regulated by the municipal government, through registration cards issued to female sex workers (FSWs) for an annual fee. Registration has been associated with decreased drug use and increase condom use and HIV testing. Previously, it was demonstrated that FSWs operating in bars were more likely than street-based FSWs to be registered. This implies that certain venues may be more accessible to local authorities for the enforcement of this type of programme. Taking a novel multilevel approach, we examined whether venue characteristics of bars reflecting greater organised management and visibility affect registration status of FSWs. In an analysis of venue-level characteristics, predictors of being registered were availability of free condoms at work and distance to the main sex strip; however, these were not independently associated after inclusion of FSWs' income, illicit drug use and history of HIV testing. Our findings suggest that sex work regulations may inadvertently exclude venues in which the more vulnerable and less visible FSWs, such as injection drug users and those with limited financial resources, are situated. Efforts to revise or reconsider sex work regulations to ensure that they best promote FSWs' health, human and labour rights are recommended.

SCHEV Review of the Funding Model for Student Financial Assistance

Science.gov (United States)

State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, 2010

2010-01-01

The 2010 Acts of the Assembly, Chapter 874, directs the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) to conduct a study on state financial aid. In support of this directive, SCHEV conducted a series of meetings with representatives from each public four-year college or university, Richard Bland College, and representatives from the…

Financialization and financial profit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arturo Guillén

2014-09-01

Full Text Available This article starts from the critical review of the concept of financial capital. I consider it is necessary not to confuse this category with of financialization, which has acquired a certificate of naturalization from the rise of neoliberalism. Although financial monopoly-financial capital is the hegemonic segment of the bourgeoisie in the major capitalist countries, their dominance does not imply, a fortiori, financialization of economic activity, since it depends of the conditions of the process reproduction of capital. The emergence of joint stock companies modified the formation of the average rate of profit. The "promoter profit" becomes one of the main forms of income of monopoly-financial capital. It is postulated that financial profit is a kind of "extraordinary surplus-value" which is appropriated by monopoly-financial capital by means of the monopolistic control it exerts on the issue and circulation of fictitious capital.

32 CFR 635.27 - Vehicle Registration System.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 32 National Defense 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Vehicle Registration System. 635.27 Section 635.27 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY (CONTINUED) LAW ENFORCEMENT AND CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTING Offense Reporting § 635.27 Vehicle Registration System. The Vehicle Registration System (VR...

37 CFR 1.293 - Statutory invention registration.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... the date of publication of the statutory invention registration; (2) The required fee for filing a request for publication of a statutory invention registration as provided for in § 1.17 (n) or (o); (3) A... application. (b) Any request for publication of a statutory invention registration must include the following...

Registration of the cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morales, F.; Campos, X.

2002-01-01

A database for the registration of the cancer was designed in ambient access, of the Microsoft Office, to take the registrations at national level. With this database the statistics will be obtained about the incidence of the cancer in the population, evaluation of the sanitary services of prevention, diagnose and treatment of the illness, etc. The used codes are according to the listings of code of the Ministry of Health (MINSA) and OPS

Financial risk analysis in the synthesis and design of processing networks: Balancing risk and return

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Quaglia, Alberto; Sin, Gürkan; Gani, Rafiqul

2014-01-01

The construction of a processing network is a corporate investment, that processing companies make with the goal of creating the conditions to increase their value. In a previous work, a computer-aided framework supporting the design of processing network under uncertainty has been presented (Qua...... and financial risk models. Through the solution of a small benchmark problem, the impact of financial factors on the optimal network configuration is presented and discussed....

46 CFR 401.220 - Registration of pilots.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 8 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Registration of pilots. 401.220 Section 401.220 Shipping... Registration of Pilots § 401.220 Registration of pilots. (a) The Director shall determine the number of pilots... waters of the Great Lakes and to provide for equitable participation of United States Registered Pilots...

Zimbabwe's national AIDS levy: A case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhat, Nisha; Kilmarx, Peter H; Dube, Freeman; Manenji, Albert; Dube, Medelina; Magure, Tapuwa

2016-01-01

We conducted a case study of the Zimbabwe National AIDS Trust Fund ('AIDS Levy') as an approach to domestic government financing of the response to HIV and AIDS. Data came from three sources: a literature review, including a search for grey literature, review of government documents from the Zimbabwe National AIDS Council (NAC), and key informant interviews with representatives of the Zimbabwean government, civil society and international organizations. The literature search yielded 139 sources, and 20 key informants were interviewed. Established by legislation in 1999, the AIDS Levy entails a 3% income tax for individuals and 3% tax on profits of employers and trusts (which excluded the mining industry until 2015). It is managed by the parastatal NAC through a decentralized structure of AIDS Action Committees. Revenues increased from inception to 2006 through 2008, a period of economic instability and hyperinflation. Following dollarization in 2009, annual revenues continued to increase, reaching US$38.6 million in 2014. By policy, at least 50% of funds are used for purchase of antiretroviral medications. Other spending includes administration and capital costs, HIV prevention, and monitoring and evaluation. Several financial controls and auditing systems are in place. Key informants perceived the AIDS Levy as a 'homegrown' solution that provided country ownership and reduced dependence on donor funding, but called for further increased transparency, accountability, and reduced administrative costs, as well as recommended changes to increase revenue. The Zimbabwe AIDS Levy has generated substantial resources, recently over US$35 million per year, and signals an important commitment by Zimbabweans, which may have helped attract other donor resources. Many key informants considered the Zimbabwe AIDS Levy to be a best practice for other countries to follow.

Registration of 3-dimensional facial photographs for clinical use.

Science.gov (United States)

Maal, Thomas J J; van Loon, Bram; Plooij, Joanneke M; Rangel, Frits; Ettema, Anke M; Borstlap, Wilfred A; Bergé, Stefaan J

2010-10-01

To objectively evaluate treatment outcomes in oral and maxillofacial surgery, pre- and post-treatment 3-dimensional (3D) photographs of the patient's face can be registered. For clinical use, it is of great importance that this registration process is accurate (photographs were captured at 3 different times: baseline (T(0)), after 1 minute (T(1)), and 3 weeks later (T(2)). Furthermore, a 3D photograph of the volunteer laughing (T(L)) was acquired to investigate the effect of facial expression. Two different registration methods were used to register the photographs acquired at all different times: surface-based registration and reference-based registration. Within the surface-based registration, 2 different software packages (Maxilim [Medicim NV, Mechelen, Belgium] and 3dMD Patient [3dMD LLC, Atlanta, GA]) were used to register the 3D photographs acquired at the various times. The surface-based registration process was repeated with the preprocessed photographs. Reference-based registration (Maxilim) was performed twice by 2 observers investigating the inter- and intraobserver error. The mean registration errors are small for the 3D photographs at rest (0.39 mm for T(0)-T(1) and 0.52 mm for T(0)-T(2)). The mean registration error increased to 1.2 mm for the registration between the 3D photographs acquired at T(0) and T(L). The mean registration error for the reference-based method was 1.0 mm for T(0)-T(1), 1.1 mm for T(0)-T(2), and 1.5 mm for T(0) and T(L). The mean registration errors for the preprocessed photographs were even smaller (0.30 mm for T(0)-T(1), 0.42 mm for T(0)-T(2), and 1.2 mm for T(0) and T(L)). Furthermore, a strong correlation between the results of both software packages used for surface-based registration was found. The intra- and interobserver error for the reference-based registration method was found to be 1.2 and 1.0 mm, respectively. Surface-based registration is an accurate method to compare 3D photographs of the same individual at

Central research registration at Technical University of Denmark (DTU)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sand, Ane Ahrenkiel

Some five years ago, DTU switched from decentralized research registration, where researchers entered their publications into the DTU research repository themselves to centralized research registration, whereby library staff upload academic publications to the repository on behalf...... up the registration team, the configuration of the repository platform (Pure), the registration workflow and last but not least the results since DTU switched to centralized research registration....

Central Research Registration at Technical University of Denmark (DTU)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sand, Ane Ahrenkiel

Some five years ago, DTU switched from decentralized research registration, where researchers entered their publications into the DTU research repository themselves to centralized research registration, whereby library staff upload academic publications to the repository on behalf...... up the registration team, the configuration of the repository platform (Pure), the registration workflow and last but not least the results since DTU switched to centralized research registration....

A Review of Financial Accounting Fraud Detection based on Data Mining Techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Anuj; Kumar Panigrahi, Prabin

2012-02-01

With an upsurge in financial accounting fraud in the current economic scenario experienced, financial accounting fraud detection (FAFD) has become an emerging topic of great importance for academic, research and industries. The failure of internal auditing system of the organization in identifying the accounting frauds has lead to use of specialized procedures to detect financial accounting fraud, collective known as forensic accounting. Data mining techniques are providing great aid in financial accounting fraud detection, since dealing with the large data volumes and complexities of financial data are big challenges for forensic accounting. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the literature on the application of data mining techniques for the detection of financial accounting fraud and proposes a framework for data mining techniques based accounting fraud detection. The systematic and comprehensive literature review of the data mining techniques applicable to financial accounting fraud detection may provide a foundation to future research in this field. The findings of this review show that data mining techniques like logistic models, neural networks, Bayesian belief network, and decision trees have been applied most extensively to provide primary solutions to the problems inherent in the detection and classification of fraudulent data.

The financial attractiveness assessment of large waste management projects registered as clean development mechanism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bufoni, André Luiz; Oliveira, Luciano Basto; Rosa, Luiz Pinguelli

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Projects are not financially attractive without registration as CDMs. • WM benchmarks and indicators are converging and reducing in variance. • A sensitivity analysis reveal that revenue has more of an effect on the financial results. • Results indicate that an extensive database would reduce WM project risk and capital costs. • Disclosure standards would make information more comparable worldwide. - Abstract: This study illustrates the financial analyses for demonstration and assessment of additionality presented in the project design (PDD) and enclosed documents of the 431 large Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM) classified as the ‘waste handling and disposal sector’ (13) over the past ten years (2004–2014). The expected certified emissions reductions (CER) of these projects total 63.54 million metric tons of CO 2 eq, where eight countries account for 311 projects and 43.36 million metric tons. All of the projects declare themselves ‘not financially attractive’ without CER with an estimated sum of negative results of approximately a half billion US$. The results indicate that WM benchmarks and indicators are converging and reducing in variance, and the sensitivity analysis reveals that revenues have a greater effect on the financial results. This work concludes that an extensive financial database with simple standards for disclosure would greatly diminish statement problems and make information more comparable, reducing the risk and capital costs of WM projects

The financial attractiveness assessment of large waste management projects registered as clean development mechanism

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bufoni, André Luiz, E-mail: bufoni@facc.ufrj.br [Energy Planning Program, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro PPE/COPPE/UFRJ (Brazil); Oliveira, Luciano Basto [International Virtual Institute of Global Changes IVIG/COPPE/UFRJ (Brazil); Rosa, Luiz Pinguelli [Energy Planning Program, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro PPE/COPPE/UFRJ (Brazil)

2015-09-15

Highlights: • Projects are not financially attractive without registration as CDMs. • WM benchmarks and indicators are converging and reducing in variance. • A sensitivity analysis reveal that revenue has more of an effect on the financial results. • Results indicate that an extensive database would reduce WM project risk and capital costs. • Disclosure standards would make information more comparable worldwide. - Abstract: This study illustrates the financial analyses for demonstration and assessment of additionality presented in the project design (PDD) and enclosed documents of the 431 large Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM) classified as the ‘waste handling and disposal sector’ (13) over the past ten years (2004–2014). The expected certified emissions reductions (CER) of these projects total 63.54 million metric tons of CO{sub 2}eq, where eight countries account for 311 projects and 43.36 million metric tons. All of the projects declare themselves ‘not financially attractive’ without CER with an estimated sum of negative results of approximately a half billion US$. The results indicate that WM benchmarks and indicators are converging and reducing in variance, and the sensitivity analysis reveals that revenues have a greater effect on the financial results. This work concludes that an extensive financial database with simple standards for disclosure would greatly diminish statement problems and make information more comparable, reducing the risk and capital costs of WM projects.

Fuels Registration, Reporting, and Compliance Help

Science.gov (United States)

Information about the requirements for registration and health effects testing of new fuels or fuel additives and mandatory registration for fuels reporting and about mandatory reporting forms for parties regulated under EPA fuel programs.

Barriers to self-care in women of reproductive age with HIV/AIDS in Iran: a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Oskouie, Fatemeh; Kashefi, Farzaneh; Rafii, Forough; Gouya, Mohammad Mehdi

2017-01-01

Although increasing attention is paid to HIV/AIDS, patients with HIV still experience several barriers to self-care. These barriers have been previously identified in small quantitative studies on women with HIV, but qualitative studies are required to clarify barriers to self-care. We conducted our study using the grounded theory methodological approach. A total of 28 women with HIV and their family members, were interviewed. The data were analyzed with the Corbin and Strauss method (1998). The key barriers to self-care in women with HIV/AIDS included social stigma, addiction, psychological problems, medication side-effects and financial problems. Women with HIV/AIDS face several barriers to self-care. Therefore, when designing self-care models for these women, social and financial barriers should be identified. Mental health treatment should also be incorporated into such models and patients' access to health care services should be facilitated.

The cadastral registration of the property right

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D.-G. IONAȘ

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Real rights are subjective patrimonial rights which provide the holder with the right to directly exercise certain prerogatives over a determined good. Real rights over immobile goods, registered in the cadastral register are called tabular rights. Cadastral registration is that certain form of registration by which a real right over an immobile good is acquired, changed or ended, from the time de registration request is filed. At this time, registration in the cadastral register provides the opposability effect, as the constitutive effect is suspended until the cadastral works are finalized and new cadastral registers are created for each administrative unit.

78 FR 54720 - Registration and Financial Security Requirements for Brokers of Property and Freight Forwarders

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-05

... trustee previously filed Forms BMC-84 or BMC-85, do I need to file a new one reflecting the new $75,000... jurisdiction must file new BMC-84 or BMC-85 forms reflecting the new minimum financial security amount of $75,000 as of October 1, 2013. FMCSA will develop new BMC forms for use by surety bonding companies and...

SU-E-J-95: Towards Optimum Boundary Conditions for Biomechanical Model Based Deformable Registration Using Intensity Based Image Matching for Prostate Correlative Pathology.

Science.gov (United States)

Samavati, N; McGrath, D M; Lee, J; van der Kwast, T; Jewett, M; Mã Nard, C; Pluim, J P W; Brock, K K

2012-06-01

Ultrasound for Cancer Therapy. Dr. Brock is a Cancer Care Ontario Research Chair in Cancer Imaging and has financial interest in deformable registration technology through the licensing of Morfeus to RaySearch Laboratories. © 2012 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

Three dimensional image alignment, registration and fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Treves, S.T.; Mitchell, K.D.; Habboush, I.H.

1998-01-01

Combined assessment of three dimensional anatomical and functional images (SPECT, PET, MRI, CT) is useful to determine the nature and extent of lesions in many parts of the body. Physicians principally rely on their spatial sense of mentally re-orient and overlap images obtained with different imaging modalities. Objective methods that enable easy and intuitive image registration can help the physician arrive at more optimal diagnoses and better treatment decisions. This review describes a simple, intuitive and robust image registration approach developed in our laboratory. It differs from most other registration techniques in that it allows the user to incorporate all of the available information within the images in the registration process. This method takes full advantage of the ability of knowledgeable operators to achieve image registration and fusion using an intuitive interactive visual approach. It can register images accurately and quickly without the use of elaborate mathematical modeling or optimization techniques. The method provides the operator with tools to manipulate images in three dimensions, including visual feedback techniques to assess the accuracy of registration (grids, overlays, masks, and fusion of images in different colors). Its application is not limited to brain imaging and can be applied to images from any region in the body. The overall effect is a registration algorithm that is easy to implement and can achieve accuracy on the order of one pixel

Sulcal set optimization for cortical surface registration.

Science.gov (United States)

Joshi, Anand A; Pantazis, Dimitrios; Li, Quanzheng; Damasio, Hanna; Shattuck, David W; Toga, Arthur W; Leahy, Richard M

2010-04-15

Flat mapping based cortical surface registration constrained by manually traced sulcal curves has been widely used for inter subject comparisons of neuroanatomical data. Even for an experienced neuroanatomist, manual sulcal tracing can be quite time consuming, with the cost increasing with the number of sulcal curves used for registration. We present a method for estimation of an optimal subset of size N(C) from N possible candidate sulcal curves that minimizes a mean squared error metric over all combinations of N(C) curves. The resulting procedure allows us to estimate a subset with a reduced number of curves to be traced as part of the registration procedure leading to optimal use of manual labeling effort for registration. To minimize the error metric we analyze the correlation structure of the errors in the sulcal curves by modeling them as a multivariate Gaussian distribution. For a given subset of sulci used as constraints in surface registration, the proposed model estimates registration error based on the correlation structure of the sulcal errors. The optimal subset of constraint curves consists of the N(C) sulci that jointly minimize the estimated error variance for the subset of unconstrained curves conditioned on the N(C) constraint curves. The optimal subsets of sulci are presented and the estimated and actual registration errors for these subsets are computed. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A complete software application for automatic registration of x-ray mammography and magnetic resonance images

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Solves-Llorens, J. A.; Rupérez, M. J.; Monserrat, C.; Feliu, E.; García, M.; Lloret, M.

2014-01-01

Purpose: This work presents a complete and automatic software application to aid radiologists in breast cancer diagnosis. The application is a fully automated method that performs a complete registration of magnetic resonance (MR) images and x-ray (XR) images in both directions (from MR to XR and from XR to MR) and for both x-ray mammograms, craniocaudal (CC), and mediolateral oblique (MLO). This new approximation allows radiologists to mark points in the MR images and, without any manual intervention, it provides their corresponding points in both types of XR mammograms and vice versa. Methods: The application automatically segments magnetic resonance images and x-ray images using the C-Means method and the Otsu method, respectively. It compresses the magnetic resonance images in both directions, CC and MLO, using a biomechanical model of the breast that distinguishes the specific biomechanical behavior of each one of its three tissues (skin, fat, and glandular tissue) separately. It makes a projection of both compressions and registers them with the original XR images using affine transformations and nonrigid registration methods. Results: The application has been validated by two expert radiologists. This was carried out through a quantitative validation on 14 data sets in which the Euclidean distance between points marked by the radiologists and the corresponding points obtained by the application were measured. The results showed a mean error of 4.2 ± 1.9 mm for the MRI to CC registration, 4.8 ± 1.3 mm for the MRI to MLO registration, and 4.1 ± 1.3 mm for the CC and MLO to MRI registration. Conclusions: A complete software application that automatically registers XR and MR images of the breast has been implemented. The application permits radiologists to estimate the position of a lesion that is suspected of being a tumor in an imaging modality based on its position in another different modality with a clinically acceptable error. The results show that the

A complete software application for automatic registration of x-ray mammography and magnetic resonance images

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Solves-Llorens, J. A.; Rupérez, M. J., E-mail: mjruperez@labhuman.i3bh.es; Monserrat, C. [LabHuman, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022 Valencia (Spain); Feliu, E.; García, M. [Hospital Clínica Benidorm, Avda. Alfonso Puchades, 8, 03501 Benidorm (Alicante) (Spain); Lloret, M. [Hospital Universitari y Politècnic La Fe, Bulevar Sur, 46026 Valencia (Spain)

2014-08-15

Purpose: This work presents a complete and automatic software application to aid radiologists in breast cancer diagnosis. The application is a fully automated method that performs a complete registration of magnetic resonance (MR) images and x-ray (XR) images in both directions (from MR to XR and from XR to MR) and for both x-ray mammograms, craniocaudal (CC), and mediolateral oblique (MLO). This new approximation allows radiologists to mark points in the MR images and, without any manual intervention, it provides their corresponding points in both types of XR mammograms and vice versa. Methods: The application automatically segments magnetic resonance images and x-ray images using the C-Means method and the Otsu method, respectively. It compresses the magnetic resonance images in both directions, CC and MLO, using a biomechanical model of the breast that distinguishes the specific biomechanical behavior of each one of its three tissues (skin, fat, and glandular tissue) separately. It makes a projection of both compressions and registers them with the original XR images using affine transformations and nonrigid registration methods. Results: The application has been validated by two expert radiologists. This was carried out through a quantitative validation on 14 data sets in which the Euclidean distance between points marked by the radiologists and the corresponding points obtained by the application were measured. The results showed a mean error of 4.2 ± 1.9 mm for the MRI to CC registration, 4.8 ± 1.3 mm for the MRI to MLO registration, and 4.1 ± 1.3 mm for the CC and MLO to MRI registration. Conclusions: A complete software application that automatically registers XR and MR images of the breast has been implemented. The application permits radiologists to estimate the position of a lesion that is suspected of being a tumor in an imaging modality based on its position in another different modality with a clinically acceptable error. The results show that the

Estimating the cost to rural ambulating HIV/AIDS patients on Highly ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

We recommend that agencies associated with HIV/AIDS activities, supplements government's effort by helping to get antiretroviral closer to the door step of patients so as to reduce this huge financial burden which constitutes more than 100% of their median annual earned income. Pan African Medical Journal 2012; 12:21 ...

Subspace-Based Holistic Registration for Low-Resolution Facial Images

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Boom BJ

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Subspace-based holistic registration is introduced as an alternative to landmark-based face registration, which has a poor performance on low-resolution images, as obtained in camera surveillance applications. The proposed registration method finds the alignment by maximizing the similarity score between a probe and a gallery image. We use a novel probabilistic framework for both user-independent as well as user-specific face registration. The similarity is calculated using the probability that the face image is correctly aligned in a face subspace, but additionally we take the probability into account that the face is misaligned based on the residual error in the dimensions perpendicular to the face subspace. We perform extensive experiments on the FRGCv2 database to evaluate the impact that the face registration methods have on face recognition. Subspace-based holistic registration on low-resolution images can improve face recognition in comparison with landmark-based registration on high-resolution images. The performance of the tested face recognition methods after subspace-based holistic registration on a low-resolution version of the FRGC database is similar to that after manual registration.

Language proficiency and nursing registration.

Science.gov (United States)

Müller, Amanda

2016-02-01

This discussion paper focuses on English proficiency standards for nursing registration in Australia, how Australia has dealt with the issue of language proficiency, and the factors which have led to the establishment of the current language standards. Also, this paper will provide a comparison of the two language tests that are currently accepted in Australia (OET and IELTS), including the appropriateness of these tests and the minimum standards used. The paper will also examine the use of educational background as an indicator of language proficiency. Finally, communication-based complaints in the post-registration environment will be explored, and some discussion will be provided about why pre-registration measures might have failed to prevent such problematic situations from occurring. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Overlay improvement by exposure map based mask registration optimization

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Irene; Guo, Eric; Chen, Ming; Lu, Max; Li, Gordon; Li, Rivan; Tian, Eric

2015-03-01

Along with the increased miniaturization of semiconductor electronic devices, the design rules of advanced semiconductor devices shrink dramatically. [1] One of the main challenges of lithography step is the layer-to-layer overlay control. Furthermore, DPT (Double Patterning Technology) has been adapted for the advanced technology node like 28nm and 14nm, corresponding overlay budget becomes even tighter. [2][3] After the in-die mask registration (pattern placement) measurement is introduced, with the model analysis of a KLA SOV (sources of variation) tool, it's observed that registration difference between masks is a significant error source of wafer layer-to-layer overlay at 28nm process. [4][5] Mask registration optimization would highly improve wafer overlay performance accordingly. It was reported that a laser based registration control (RegC) process could be applied after the pattern generation or after pellicle mounting and allowed fine tuning of the mask registration. [6] In this paper we propose a novel method of mask registration correction, which can be applied before mask writing based on mask exposure map, considering the factors of mask chip layout, writing sequence, and pattern density distribution. Our experiment data show if pattern density on the mask keeps at a low level, in-die mask registration residue error in 3sigma could be always under 5nm whatever blank type and related writer POSCOR (position correction) file was applied; it proves random error induced by material or equipment would occupy relatively fixed error budget as an error source of mask registration. On the real production, comparing the mask registration difference through critical production layers, it could be revealed that registration residue error of line space layers with higher pattern density is always much larger than the one of contact hole layers with lower pattern density. Additionally, the mask registration difference between layers with similar pattern density

CIDA funds AIDS counselling and care centre in Zambia.

Science.gov (United States)

Meehan, S T

1993-12-01

In its fight against the spread of AIDS, which is inextricably linked to the issues of international development, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) has focused support on strengthening existing health care systems, helping vulnerable groups gain control over their lives and health, promoting AIDS prevention measures, and building links to other related health services. Funding includes 1) a grant to Hope House in Zambia (counseling and support for persons with AIDS); 2) a contribution to the Canadian Public Health Association's $11 million Southern Africa AIDS Training Programme (helps regional organizations working in AIDS prevention and support through education, training, hospital outreach, peer education for vulnerable groups, assistance to women's shelters, and networking); 3) support for Laval University's Laval Centre for International Cooperation in Health and Development (runs a $22 million program in French-speaking West Africa that operates in over 10 countries and focuses on epidemiological surveillance, information, education, and communication, control of sexually transmitted diseases [STDs], and management of national AIDS programs); 4) support for the University of Manitoba's $3 million program with the University of Nairobi to slow the spread of HIV (strengthens local health care capabilities for STD/HIV diagnosis, treatment, and counseling, with special emphasis on training and education); 5) support in the past for a study of proposed AIDS legislation and its potential impact on the human rights of PLWHIV/AIDS in Thailand; 6) a contribution to help equip the office of the National Movement for Street Children, Rio de Janeiro (focuses on preventing the spread of AIDS among child prostitutes); and 7) long-term financial support to the Interagency Coalition on AIDS and Development, a coalition of Canadian development nongovernmental organizations responding to AIDS in developing countries. An address to obtain a pamphlet giving

New actors, financial mechanisms and reformed aid reporting: What role for SRHR in post-2015 financing for development?

Science.gov (United States)

Hoehn, Karen; Stratmann, Johanna; Schaffler, Peter

2015-05-01

As governments around the world prepare to adopt a new development framework and supportive financial flows, the OECD Development Assistance Committee is exploring new ways of measuring and reporting on resource flows enabling development, including population assistance. These changes will affect the evidence base, discourse about and donor incentives related to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). They may lead to: i) reduction of grant aid in favour of instruments that are less suitable for SRHR, like loans and market-like instruments; ii) expansion of the range of development stakeholders to include those with market power that can steer the discussion away from the needs of the most under-served populations; and iii) diversion of attention and resources away from SRHR. The discourse over how to provide, incentivize and report on development assistance in the new framework demonstrates the crucial relationship between knowledge, evidence, practice and power in relation to funding for SRHR in developing countries. With all that is at stake, although the OECD debate on the future of the development finance measurement system may seem highly abstract, this is a high-stakes game that SRHR advocates need to have a hand in. Those who seek to improve SRHR are well served to engage in these discussions as early and often as possible before the momentous decisions over the coming months. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

48 CFR 52.204-7 - Central Contractor Registration.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Central Contractor....204-7 Central Contractor Registration. As prescribed in 4.1105, use the following clause: Central Contractor Registration (APR 2008) (a) Definitions. As used in this clause— Central Contractor Registration...

Health educators in the workplace: helping companies respond to the AIDS crisis.

Science.gov (United States)

Bauman, L J; Aberth, J

1986-01-01

As the number of cases of AIDS increases, more and more companies will have to decide how to handle employees with AIDS and those at high risk. AIDS creates medical, legal, and ethical issues in the workplace, all of which are emotional and complex; managers need expert assistance to guide their decision-making and policy development. This article identifies various dimensions of the AIDS-related issues emerging in corporations nationwide, including: confidentiality, the right of patients to work, benefits and insurance, HTLV-III screening, fears of contagion among workers, needs of companies to avoid financial and legal exposure, and effects on worker productivity. Health educators are in a unique position to contribute to the satisfactory resolution of AIDS-related problems in the workplace through their training and experience in education, policy development and the relevant legal and ethical issues in the health care field. However, they will have to initiate discussions with corporation executives themselves in order to reach this most important audience.

Surface-to-surface registration using level sets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Mads Fogtmann; Erbou, Søren G.; Vester-Christensen, Martin

2007-01-01

This paper presents a general approach for surface-to-surface registration (S2SR) with the Euclidean metric using signed distance maps. In addition, the method is symmetric such that the registration of a shape A to a shape B is identical to the registration of the shape B to the shape A. The S2SR...... problem can be approximated by the image registration (IR) problem of the signed distance maps (SDMs) of the surfaces confined to some narrow band. By shrinking the narrow bands around the zero level sets the solution to the IR problem converges towards the S2SR problem. It is our hypothesis...... that this approach is more robust and less prone to fall into local minima than ordinary surface-to-surface registration. The IR problem is solved using the inverse compositional algorithm. In this paper, a set of 40 pelvic bones of Duroc pigs are registered to each other w.r.t. the Euclidean transformation...

Food security in HIV/AIDS response: Insights from Homa Bay, Kenya ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper examines the viability and effectiveness of a pilot farming initiative in reversing impacts of HIV/AIDS on the most affected households in Homa Bay, Kenya. The paper argues that once patients are stable, they can effectively be engaged in farming with minimal financial and technical support, resulting in enhanced ...

Contacts in the Office of Pesticide Programs, Registration Division

Science.gov (United States)

The Registration Division (RD) is responsible product registrations, amendments, registrations, tolerances, experimental use permits, and emergency exemptions for conventional chemical pesticides. Find contacts in this division.

Automatic intra-modality brain image registration method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Whitaker, J.M.; Ardekani, B.A.; Braun, M.

1996-01-01

Full text: Registration of 3D images of brain of the same or different subjects has potential importance in clinical diagnosis, treatment planning and neurological research. The broad aim of our work is to produce an automatic and robust intra-modality, brain image registration algorithm for intra-subject and inter-subject studies. Our algorithm is composed of two stages. Initial alignment is achieved by finding the values of nine transformation parameters (representing translation, rotation and scale) that minimise the nonoverlapping regions of the head. This is achieved by minimisation of the sum of the exclusive OR of two binary head images, produced using the head extraction procedure described by Ardekani et al. (J Comput Assist Tomogr, 19:613-623, 1995). The initial alignment successfully determines the scale parameters and gross translation and rotation parameters. Fine alignment uses an objective function described for inter-modality registration in Ardekani et al. (ibid.). The algorithm segments one of the images to be aligned into a set of connected components using K-means clustering. Registration is achieved by minimising the K-means variance of the segmentation induced in the other image. Similarity of images of the same modality makes the method attractive for intra-modality registration. A 3D MR image, with voxel dimensions, 2x2x6 mm, was misaligned. The registered image shows visually accurate registration. The average displacement of a pixel from its correct location was measured to be 3.3 mm. The algorithm was tested on intra-subject MR images and was found to produce good qualitative results. Using the data available, the algorithm produced promising qualitative results in intra-subject registration. Further work is necessary in its application to intersubject registration, due to large variability in brain structure between subjects. Clinical evaluation of the algorithm for selected applications is required

A prospective comparison between auto-registration and manual registration of real-time ultrasound with MR images for percutaneous ablation or biopsy of hepatic lesions.

Science.gov (United States)

Cha, Dong Ik; Lee, Min Woo; Song, Kyoung Doo; Oh, Young-Taek; Jeong, Ja-Yeon; Chang, Jung-Woo; Ryu, Jiwon; Lee, Kyong Joon; Kim, Jaeil; Bang, Won-Chul; Shin, Dong Kuk; Choi, Sung Jin; Koh, Dalkwon; Seo, Bong Koo; Kim, Kyunga

2017-06-01

To compare the accuracy and required time for image fusion of real-time ultrasound (US) with pre-procedural magnetic resonance (MR) images between positioning auto-registration and manual registration for percutaneous radiofrequency ablation or biopsy of hepatic lesions. This prospective study was approved by the institutional review board, and all patients gave written informed consent. Twenty-two patients (male/female, n = 18/n = 4; age, 61.0 ± 7.7 years) who were referred for planning US to assess the feasibility of radiofrequency ablation (n = 21) or biopsy (n = 1) for focal hepatic lesions were included. One experienced radiologist performed the two types of image fusion methods in each patient. The performance of auto-registration and manual registration was evaluated. The accuracy of the two methods, based on measuring registration error, and the time required for image fusion for both methods were recorded using in-house software and respectively compared using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. Image fusion was successful in all patients. The registration error was not significantly different between the two methods (auto-registration: median, 3.75 mm; range, 1.0-15.8 mm vs. manual registration: median, 2.95 mm; range, 1.2-12.5 mm, p = 0.242). The time required for image fusion was significantly shorter with auto-registration than with manual registration (median, 28.5 s; range, 18-47 s, vs. median, 36.5 s; range, 14-105 s, p = 0.026). Positioning auto-registration showed promising results compared with manual registration, with similar accuracy and even shorter registration time.

Randomized controlled trial of the effect of medical audit on AIDS prevention in general practice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sandbæk, Annelli

1999-01-01

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to evaluate the effect of a medical audit on AIDS prevention in general practice. METHODS: We conducted a prospective randomized controlled study performed as 'lagged intervention'. At the time of comparison, the intervention group had completed 6 months of audit including...... of such consultations initiated by the GPs. CONCLUSIONS: Medical audit had no observed effect on AIDS prevention in general practice. Udgivelsesdato: 1999-Oct...... a primary activity registration, feedback of own data and a meeting with colleagues and experts, and had received brief summaries of the meetings and reminders about the project (a full 'audit circle'). The participants were from general practices in Copenhagen and the Counties of Funen and Vejle, Denmark...

High performance deformable image registration algorithms for manycore processors

CERN Document Server

Shackleford, James; Sharp, Gregory

2013-01-01

High Performance Deformable Image Registration Algorithms for Manycore Processors develops highly data-parallel image registration algorithms suitable for use on modern multi-core architectures, including graphics processing units (GPUs). Focusing on deformable registration, we show how to develop data-parallel versions of the registration algorithm suitable for execution on the GPU. Image registration is the process of aligning two or more images into a common coordinate frame and is a fundamental step to be able to compare or fuse data obtained from different sensor measurements. E

Foreign aid and poverty reduction in sub-Saharan Africa: A cross-country investigation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

GT Ijaiya

2004-04-01

Full Text Available The continuous increase in the rate of poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa can be linked to the inadequate management and use of international financial assistance such as foreign aid. Using a cross-country data, this paper examines the relationship between foreign aid and poverty reduction in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA. The result obtained indicates that foreign aid has no significant influence on poverty reduction in SSA, because of the countries’ weak economic management evidenced by high levels of corruption, bad governance, and political and economic instability. To improve the performance of foreign aid directed at poverty reduction, the paper suggests the implementation of measures directed at good governance, macroeconomic and political stability.Incentives in Nigeria’s food manufacturing industries and their impact on output and prices

Augmented reality with image registration, vision correction and sunlight readability via liquid crystal devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yu-Jen; Chen, Po-Ju; Liang, Xiao; Lin, Yi-Hsin

2017-03-27

Augmented reality (AR), which use computer-aided projected information to augment our sense, has important impact on human life, especially for the elder people. However, there are three major challenges regarding the optical system in the AR system, which are registration, vision correction, and readability under strong ambient light. Here, we solve three challenges simultaneously for the first time using two liquid crystal (LC) lenses and polarizer-free attenuator integrated in optical-see-through AR system. One of the LC lens is used to electrically adjust the position of the projected virtual image which is so-called registration. The other LC lens with larger aperture and polarization independent characteristic is in charge of vision correction, such as myopia and presbyopia. The linearity of lens powers of two LC lenses is also discussed. The readability of virtual images under strong ambient light is solved by electrically switchable transmittance of the LC attenuator originating from light scattering and light absorption. The concept demonstrated in this paper could be further extended to other electro-optical devices as long as the devices exhibit the capability of phase modulations and amplitude modulations.

Visitor Registration System

Data.gov (United States)

US Agency for International Development — Visitor Registration System (VRS) streamlines visitor check-in and check-out process for expediting visitors into USAID. The system captures visitor information...

The Greater Involvement of People Living with AIDS principle: theory versus practice in Ontario's HIV/AIDS community-based research sector.

Science.gov (United States)

Travers, R; Wilson, M G; Flicker, S; Guta, A; Bereket, T; McKay, C; van der Meulen, A; Cleverly, S; Dickie, M; Globerman, J; Rourke, S B

2008-07-01

Drawing on the Greater Involvement of People with HIV/AIDS (GIPA) principle, the HIV/AIDS movement began to "democratize" research in Canada in the mid-1990s. To date, there is little evidence about the success of the community-based research (CBR) movement in relation to the implementation of GIPA. We draw on findings from a larger study examining barriers and facilitating factors in relation to HIV-related CBR in Ontario, Canada. An online survey was completed by 39 senior managers in Ontario AIDS service organizations (ASOs). Twenty-five in-depth, semi-structured interviews were then conducted to further explore the survey findings. Survey respondents reported that, compared to researchers and frontline service providers, people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) tended to be the least involved in all stages (input, process and outcome) of CBR projects. AIDS service organizations with a mandate that included serving rural and urban communities reported even lower levels of PLWHA involvement in CBR. Qualitative data reveal complex barriers that make meaningful PLWHA engagement in CBR difficult, including: HIV-related stigma; health-related challenges; "credentialism"; lack of capacity to engage in research; other issues taking priority; and mistrust of researchers. Facilitating factors included valuing lived experience; training and mentoring opportunities; financial compensation; trust building; and accommodating PLWHA's needs. While there is strong support for the GIPA principles in theory, practice lags far behind.

Expected value information improves financial risk taking across the adult life span.

Science.gov (United States)

Samanez-Larkin, Gregory R; Wagner, Anthony D; Knutson, Brian

2011-04-01

When making decisions, individuals must often compensate for cognitive limitations, particularly in the face of advanced age. Recent findings suggest that age-related variability in striatal activity may increase financial risk-taking mistakes in older adults. In two studies, we sought to further characterize neural contributions to optimal financial risk taking and to determine whether decision aids could improve financial risk taking. In Study 1, neuroimaging analyses revealed that individuals whose mesolimbic activation correlated with the expected value estimates of a rational actor made more optimal financial decisions. In Study 2, presentation of expected value information improved decision making in both younger and older adults, but the addition of a distracting secondary task had little impact on decision quality. Remarkably, provision of expected value information improved the performance of older adults to match that of younger adults at baseline. These findings are consistent with the notion that mesolimbic circuits play a critical role in optimal choice, and imply that providing simplified information about expected value may improve financial risk taking across the adult life span.

12 CFR 998.2 - Registration and periodic disclosures.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 7 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Registration and periodic disclosures. 998.2 Section 998.2 Banks and Banking FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE BOARD FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK DISCLOSURES REGISTRATION OF FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK EQUITY SECURITIES § 998.2 Registration and periodic disclosures. (a...

17 CFR 31.6 - Registration of leverage commodities.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... taking delivery to buy or sell the leverage commodity; (2) Explain the effect of such changes upon the... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Registration of leverage... LEVERAGE TRANSACTIONS § 31.6 Registration of leverage commodities. (a) Registration of leverage commodities...

Children as caregivers of older relatives living with HIV and AIDS in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Children as caregivers of older relatives living with HIV and AIDS in Nyang'oma division of western Kenya. ... and forced early marriage. Financial needs pushed some girls into transactional sexual relations, predisposing them to the risks of unwanted pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections. Since the children providing ...

Early & Often: Designing a Comprehensive System of Financial Aid Information. Abridged Report of the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance

Science.gov (United States)

Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, 2008

2008-01-01

Students and parents need ample time and accurate information to prepare for the financial burden of a college education--those who lack this knowledge base face a significant access barrier to higher education. The early intervention community is calling for a method of delivering age-appropriate information in a timely manner as one means of…

Financial Literacy, Financial Education, and Economic Outcomes

Science.gov (United States)

Hastings, Justine S.; Madrian, Brigitte C.; Skimmyhorn, William L.

2013-01-01

In this article, we review the literature on financial literacy, financial education, and consumer financial outcomes. We consider how financial literacy is measured in the current literature and examine how well the existing literature addresses whether financial education improves financial literacy or personal financial outcomes. We discuss the…

40 CFR 152.99 - Petitions to cancel registration.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 23 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Petitions to cancel registration. 152... Submitters' Rights § 152.99 Petitions to cancel registration. An original data submitter may petition the Agency to deny or cancel the registration of a product in accordance with this section if he has...

49 CFR 107.503 - Registration statement.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... tank motor vehicles which the registrant intends to manufacture, assemble, repair, inspect, test or... this section, each person who repairs a cargo tank or cargo tank motor vehicle must submit a copy of... PROGRAM PROCEDURES Registration of Cargo Tank and Cargo Tank Motor Vehicle Manufacturers, Assemblers...

The lifecontingencies Package: Performing Financial and Actuarial Mathematics Calculations in R

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giorgio Alfredo Spedicato

2013-11-01

Full Text Available It is possible to model life contingency insurances with the lifecontingencies R package, which is capable of performing financial and actuarial mathematics calculations. Its functions permit one to determine both the expected value and the stochastic distribution of insured benefits. Therefore, life insurance coverage can be priced and portfolios risk-based capital requirements can be assessed. This paper briefly summarizes the theory regarding life contingencies that is based on financial mathematics and demographic con- cepts. Then, with the aid of applied examples, it shows how the lifecontingencies package can be a useful tool for executing routine, deterministic, or stochastic calculations for life-contingencies actuarial mathematics.

The benefits of a trial period at home using loan-aids

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jorritsma, F.F.; Neve, J.J.; Kooijman, A.C.; Looijestijn, P.L.; Welling, J.A.; Wildt, van der G.J.

1994-01-01

As a part of the working model the Visual Advice Centre Eindhoven (V AC-E) loans, as far as possible, low vision aids to patients for a trial period of two to three weeks before a definite advice is given. The advantages, the organisation, the experience after two and a half years, and the financial

DESIGN OF A COUNTABLE PROCEDURE FOR THE REGISTRATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL VARIABLES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elier Eugenio Rabanal-Arencibia

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Many companies present in their memoirs matters of environmental character, but they are few those that are able to count the environmental facts that definitively influence in their financial states. One of the challenges of our managerial sector in Cuba is to integrate the topic of the environment to the process of taking decisions and to the business strategies. A countable system that contemplates the environmental concept in its classifier of bills, obviously will have available information for its costs and environmental revenues, what is indispensable in the long term company development, especially if it is about companies related with the exploitation of natural resources. The purpose is to carry out the Design of a Countable Procedure for the registration of environmental variables, as a support to the continuous improvement of the Environmental Accounting. 

32 CFR 636.9 - Registration requirement.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 32 National Defense 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Registration requirement. 636.9 Section 636.9 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY (CONTINUED) LAW ENFORCEMENT AND CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS MOTOR VEHICLE TRAFFIC SUPERVISION (SPECIFIC INSTALLATIONS) Fort Stewart, Georgia § 636.9 Registration requirement. In...

Fast fluid registration of medical images

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bro-Nielsen, Morten; Gramkow, Claus

1996-01-01

This paper offers a new fast algorithm for non-rigid viscous fluid registration of medical images that is at least an order of magnitude faster than the previous method by (Christensen et al., 1994). The core algorithm in the fluid registration method is based on a linear elastic deformation...

Geometric registration of remotely sensed data with SAMIR

Science.gov (United States)

Gianinetto, Marco; Barazzetti, Luigi; Dini, Luigi; Fusiello, Andrea; Toldo, Roberto

2015-06-01

The commercial market offers several software packages for the registration of remotely sensed data through standard one-to-one image matching. Although very rapid and simple, this strategy does not take into consideration all the interconnections among the images of a multi-temporal data set. This paper presents a new scientific software, called Satellite Automatic Multi-Image Registration (SAMIR), able to extend the traditional registration approach towards multi-image global processing. Tests carried out with high-resolution optical (IKONOS) and high-resolution radar (COSMO-SkyMed) data showed that SAMIR can improve the registration phase with a more rigorous and robust workflow without initial approximations, user's interaction or limitation in spatial/spectral data size. The validation highlighted a sub-pixel accuracy in image co-registration for the considered imaging technologies, including optical and radar imagery.

Depressive symptoms among older caregivers raising children impacted by HIV/AIDS in the Omusati Region of Namibia.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalomo, Eveline; Lee, Kyoung Hag; Besthorn, Fred

2017-12-01

The study of depressive symptoms among caregivers raising HIV/AIDS-orphans is emerging as an important area of research. However, it has not been explored at length in generational and cultural contexts. In this study, the authors explore the role of financial strain, raising a HIV-infected and/or impacted child, and caregiver knowledge on the depressive symptoms of 89-older caregivers raising HIV/AIDS-orphans in Namibia, Africa. In this study, we found elevated levels of depressive symptoms among this population. Using hierarchical regression, a significant positive association between financial strain and depressive symptoms was found. A significant negative association between caring for an HIV-infected orphan and depression was shown. Our work suggests the need for economic assistance programs and psychosocial interventions for older caregivers.

Registration in the Danish Regional Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer Dermatology Database: completeness of registration and accuracy of key variables

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna L Lamberg

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Anna L Lamberg1, Deirdre Cronin-Fenton2, Anne B Olesen11Department of Dermatology, 2Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, C, DenmarkObjective: To validate a clinical database for nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC with the aim of monitoring and predicting the prognosis of NMSC treated by dermatologists in clinics in the central and north Denmark regions.Methods: We assessed the completeness of registration of patients and follow-up visits, and positive predictive value (PPV, negative predictive value (NPV, sensitivity, and specificity of registrations in the database. We used the Danish Pathology Registry (DPR (n = 288 and a review of randomly selected medical records (n = 67 from two clinics as gold standards.Results: The completeness of registration of patients was 62% and 76% with DPR and medical record review as gold standards, respectively. The completeness of registration of 1st and 2nd follow up visits was 85% and 69%, respectively. The PPV and NPV ranged from 85% to 99%, and the sensitivity and specificity from 67% to 100%.Conclusion: Overall, the accuracy of variables registered in the NMSC database was satisfactory but completeness of patient registration and follow-up visits were modest. The NMSC database is a potentially valuable tool for monitoring and facilitating improvement of NMSC treatment in dermatology clinics. However, there is still room for improvement of registration of both patients and their follow-up visits.Keywords: nonmelanoma skin cancer, validation, database, positive predictive value, completeness

Validity and Reliability of Persian Version of HIV/AIDS Related Stigma Scale for People Living With HIV/AIDS in Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Davoud Pourmarzi

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Objective: To assess the perceived HIV/AIDS related stigma a comprehensive and well developed stigma instrument is necessary. This study aimed to assess validity and reliability of the Persian version of HIV/AIDS related stigma scale which was developed by Kang et al for people living with HIV/AIDS in Iran.Materials and methods: Thescale was forward translatedby two bilingual academic members then both translations were discussed by expert team. Back-translation was done by two other bilingual translators then we carried out discussion with both of them. To evaluate understandability the scale was administered to 10 Persons Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA. Final Persian version was administered to 80 PLWHA in Qom, Iran in 2014. Test–retest reliability was assessed in a sample of 20 PLWHA after a week by intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC.Results: Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for overall scale was 0.85. Also Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the five subscales were as follows: social rejection (9 items, α = 0.84, negative self-worth (4 items, α = 0.70, perceived interpersonal insecurity (2 items, α = 0.57, financial insecurity (3 items, α = 0.70, discretionary disclosure (2 items, α = 0.83. Test–retest reliability was also approved with ICC = 0.78. Correlation between items and their hypothesized subscale is greater than 0.5. Correlation between an item and its own subscale was significantly higher than its correlation with other subscales.Conclusion: This study demonstrate that the Persian version of HIV/AIDS related stigma scale is valid and reliable to assess HIV/AIDS related stigma perceived by people living whit HIV/AIDS in Iran.

27 CFR 25.112 - Dealer registration.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

.... Every brewer who sells, or offers for sale, any alcohol product (distilled spirits, wines, or beer) fit... registration. Registration covers all sales from the same location, including sales of wine, spirits, or other... for making sales of wine or beer at the customer's place of business. Otherwise, a brewer who conducts...

Tenure Security Reformand Electronic Registration: Exploring ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper examines the potential significance of updating registration practices in resolving some of the issues about tenure security in a transformative context. It deals with the importance of good governance in the context of land administration and considers its impact on intended reforms. Land registration practice as an ...

19 CFR 360.102 - Online registration.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 19 Customs Duties 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Online registration. 360.102 Section 360.102... ANALYSIS SYSTEM § 360.102 Online registration. (a) In general. (1) Any importer, importing company, customs.... boxes will not be accepted. A user identification number will be issued within two business days...

Survey of Non-Rigid Registration Tools in Medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Keszei, András P; Berkels, Benjamin; Deserno, Thomas M

2017-02-01

We catalogue available software solutions for non-rigid image registration to support scientists in selecting suitable tools for specific medical registration purposes. Registration tools were identified using non-systematic search in Pubmed, Web of Science, IEEE Xplore® Digital Library, Google Scholar, and through references in identified sources (n = 22). Exclusions are due to unavailability or inappropriateness. The remaining (n = 18) tools were classified by (i) access and technology, (ii) interfaces and application, (iii) living community, (iv) supported file formats, and (v) types of registration methodologies emphasizing the similarity measures implemented. Out of the 18 tools, (i) 12 are open source, 8 are released under a permissive free license, which imposes the least restrictions on the use and further development of the tool, 8 provide graphical processing unit (GPU) support; (ii) 7 are built on software platforms, 5 were developed for brain image registration; (iii) 6 are under active development but only 3 have had their last update in 2015 or 2016; (iv) 16 support the Analyze format, while 7 file formats can be read with only one of the tools; and (v) 6 provide multiple registration methods and 6 provide landmark-based registration methods. Based on open source, licensing, GPU support, active community, several file formats, algorithms, and similarity measures, the tools Elastics and Plastimatch are chosen for the platform ITK and without platform requirements, respectively. Researchers in medical image analysis already have a large choice of registration tools freely available. However, the most recently published algorithms may not be included in the tools, yet.

Wavelet based free-form deformations for nonrigid registration

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Wei; Niessen, Wiro J.; Klein, Stefan

2014-03-01

In nonrigid registration, deformations may take place on the coarse and fine scales. For the conventional B-splines based free-form deformation (FFD) registration, these coarse- and fine-scale deformations are all represented by basis functions of a single scale. Meanwhile, wavelets have been proposed as a signal representation suitable for multi-scale problems. Wavelet analysis leads to a unique decomposition of a signal into its coarse- and fine-scale components. Potentially, this could therefore be useful for image registration. In this work, we investigate whether a wavelet-based FFD model has advantages for nonrigid image registration. We use a B-splines based wavelet, as defined by Cai and Wang.1 This wavelet is expressed as a linear combination of B-spline basis functions. Derived from the original B-spline function, this wavelet is smooth, differentiable, and compactly supported. The basis functions of this wavelet are orthogonal across scales in Sobolev space. This wavelet was previously used for registration in computer vision, in 2D optical flow problems,2 but it was not compared with the conventional B-spline FFD in medical image registration problems. An advantage of choosing this B-splines based wavelet model is that the space of allowable deformation is exactly equivalent to that of the traditional B-spline. The wavelet transformation is essentially a (linear) reparameterization of the B-spline transformation model. Experiments on 10 CT lung and 18 T1-weighted MRI brain datasets show that wavelet based registration leads to smoother deformation fields than traditional B-splines based registration, while achieving better accuracy.

Efficient Variational Approaches for Deformable Registration of Images

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mehmet Ali Akinlar

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Dirichlet, anisotropic, and Huber regularization terms are presented for efficient registration of deformable images. Image registration, an ill-posed optimization problem, is solved using a gradient-descent-based method and some fundamental theorems in calculus of variations. Euler-Lagrange equations with homogeneous Neumann boundary conditions are obtained. These equations are discretized by multigrid and finite difference numerical techniques. The method is applied to the registration of brain MR images of size 65×65. Computational results indicate that the presented method is quite fast and efficient in the registration of deformable medical images.

21 CFR 1309.45 - Extension of registration pending final order.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 9 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Extension of registration pending final order. 1309.45 Section 1309.45 Food and Drugs DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE... for Registration: Revocation Or Suspension of Registration § 1309.45 Extension of registration pending...

32 CFR 636.8 - Registration policy.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 32 National Defense 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Registration policy. 636.8 Section 636.8 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY (CONTINUED) LAW ENFORCEMENT AND CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS MOTOR VEHICLE TRAFFIC SUPERVISION (SPECIFIC INSTALLATIONS) Fort Stewart, Georgia § 636.8 Registration policy. In addition to th...

Real-time CT-video registration for continuous endoscopic guidance

Science.gov (United States)

Merritt, Scott A.; Rai, Lav; Higgins, William E.

2006-03-01

Previous research has shown that CT-image-based guidance could be useful for the bronchoscopic assessment of lung cancer. This research drew upon the registration of bronchoscopic video images to CT-based endoluminal renderings of the airway tree. The proposed methods either were restricted to discrete single-frame registration, which took several seconds to complete, or required non-real-time buffering and processing of video sequences. We have devised a fast 2D/3D image registration method that performs single-frame CT-Video registration in under 1/15th of a second. This allows the method to be used for real-time registration at full video frame rates without significantly altering the physician's behavior. The method achieves its speed through a gradient-based optimization method that allows most of the computation to be performed off-line. During live registration, the optimization iteratively steps toward the locally optimal viewpoint at which a CT-based endoluminal view is most similar to a current bronchoscopic video frame. After an initial registration to begin the process (generally done in the trachea for bronchoscopy), subsequent registrations are performed in real-time on each incoming video frame. As each new bronchoscopic video frame becomes available, the current optimization is initialized using the previous frame's optimization result, allowing continuous guidance to proceed without manual re-initialization. Tests were performed using both synthetic and pre-recorded bronchoscopic video. The results show that the method is robust to initialization errors, that registration accuracy is high, and that continuous registration can proceed on real-time video at >15 frames per sec. with minimal user-intervention.

Financial integration and financial development in transition economies: What happens during financial crises?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Igor Masten

2011-12-01

Full Text Available

This paper provides an empirical analysis of the role of financial development and financial integration in the growth dynamics of transition countries. We focus on the role of financial integration in determining the impact of financial development on growth, distinguishing “normal times” from periods of financial crises. In addition to confirming the significant positive effect on growth exerted by financial development and financial integration, our estimates show that a higher degree of financial openness tends to reduce the contractionary effect of financial crises, by cushioning the effect on the domestic supply of credit. Consequently, the high reliance on international capital flows by transition countries does not necessarily increase their financial fragility. This implies that financial protectionism is a self-defeating policy, at least for transition countries.

elastix: a toolbox for intensity-based medical image registration.

Science.gov (United States)

Klein, Stefan; Staring, Marius; Murphy, Keelin; Viergever, Max A; Pluim, Josien P W

2010-01-01

Medical image registration is an important task in medical image processing. It refers to the process of aligning data sets, possibly from different modalities (e.g., magnetic resonance and computed tomography), different time points (e.g., follow-up scans), and/or different subjects (in case of population studies). A large number of methods for image registration are described in the literature. Unfortunately, there is not one method that works for all applications. We have therefore developed elastix, a publicly available computer program for intensity-based medical image registration. The software consists of a collection of algorithms that are commonly used to solve medical image registration problems. The modular design of elastix allows the user to quickly configure, test, and compare different registration methods for a specific application. The command-line interface enables automated processing of large numbers of data sets, by means of scripting. The usage of elastix for comparing different registration methods is illustrated with three example experiments, in which individual components of the registration method are varied.

EDF Energies Nouvelles. Consolidated financial statements at 30 June 2009

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-01-01

EDF Energies Nouvelles is a world leader in renewable energy electricity. The company develops, builds and operates clean energy power plants both for its own account and for third parties. Historically, EDF Energies Nouvelles primarily developed its business in two geographical areas, Europe and North America (U.S., Canada and Mexico). EDF Energies Nouvelles is a subsidiary of EDF, helping the Group to achieve its renewable energy goals. The EDF Group generates low-carbon electricity around the world and actively participates in the energy transition. EDF Energies Nouvelles prioritizes development of wind and photovoltaic solar capacity. As an integrated operator with global reach, EDF Energies Nouvelles covers the entire renewable energy chain, from development to operation and maintenance, and manages all project phases in-house. This document is EDF Energies Nouvelles's registration document for the year 2009. It contains information about Group profile, governance, business, investments, property, plant and equipment, management, financial position, employees, shareholders, etc. The document includes the group's consolidated financial statements at 31 December 2008

COMPARISON OF VOLUMETRIC REGISTRATION ALGORITHMS FOR TENSOR-BASED MORPHOMETRY.

Science.gov (United States)

Villalon, Julio; Joshi, Anand A; Toga, Arthur W; Thompson, Paul M

2011-01-01

Nonlinear registration of brain MRI scans is often used to quantify morphological differences associated with disease or genetic factors. Recently, surface-guided fully 3D volumetric registrations have been developed that combine intensity-guided volume registrations with cortical surface constraints. In this paper, we compare one such algorithm to two popular high-dimensional volumetric registration methods: large-deformation viscous fluid registration, formulated in a Riemannian framework, and the diffeomorphic "Demons" algorithm. We performed an objective morphometric comparison, by using a large MRI dataset from 340 young adult twin subjects to examine 3D patterns of correlations in anatomical volumes. Surface-constrained volume registration gave greater effect sizes for detecting morphometric associations near the cortex, while the other two approaches gave greater effects sizes subcortically. These findings suggest novel ways to combine the advantages of multiple methods in the future.

Study of national registration systems for health records of radiation workers. National radiation dose registration system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakagawa, Haruo; Kanda, Keiji

1999-01-01

A national radiation dose registration system is proposed in this paper. In Japan, only one radiation dose registration system is partly effective. It is applied for workers in nuclear power plants which are under control of regulatory laws for nuclear reactors. The total system was proposed previously by the Committee for Compensation Claims of Nuclear Accidents. The reason for the delay in establishing a registration system for all radiation workers is supposedly a lack of effort to adjust differences among items in radiation protection laws and the promotion of public acceptance to atomic power. Items about dose recordings, record keeping and dose-record reporting in all of the radiation regulatory laws are compared to each other, and items were extracted for revision. (author)

Program of financial support of civil society organizations in Tijuana: Building a relationship between civil society and municipal government from a political change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sheila Delhumeau Rivera

2008-07-01

Full Text Available This document analyzes the relations between society and government that took place with the Financial Aid to Civil Society Organizations Program in Tijuana. The decentralization process of social policy in Mexico is revised as the context in which new programs and initiatives are developed promoting a stronger participation of the society in the policy process. The reflection on the social policy of the National Action Party in Baja California since 1989, has lead us to see the new challenges that the Financial Aid to Civil Society Organizations Program presents to the local and state government and the social organizations.

Socioeconomic determinants of accessibility to birth registration in Lao PDR.

Science.gov (United States)

Nomura, Marika; Xangsayarath, Phonepadith; Takahashi, Kenzo; Kamiya, Yusuke; Siengsounthone, Latsamy; Ogino, Hina; Kobayashi, Jun

2018-01-08

The global coverage rate of birth registration is only around 65% for the population of children under five although birth registration secures protection and access to health services that are fundamental rights for all babies. This study aimed to perform a basic analysis of the accessibility to birth registration to better understand how to improve the birth registration system in the Lao PDR. For the analysis of birth registration and related socioeconomic factors, 9576 mother-child pairs were chosen from the data set of The Lao Social Indicator Survey 2011-12. After bivariate analysis with statistical tests including the chi-square test were conducted, logistic regression was performed to determine the variables that statistically influence accessibility to birth registration. Ethno-geographic factors and place of delivery were observed to be the factors associated with birth registration in this analysis. Many mothers in the Lao PDR deliver in their local communities. Therefore, capacity development of various human resources, such as Skilled Birth Attendant, to support the local administrative procedure of birth registration in their communities could be one option to overcoming the bottlenecks in the birth registration process in the Lao PDR.

Evaluation of the use of registration stickers.

Science.gov (United States)

2011-04-01

This research evaluated the potential costs and benefits of doing away with license plate registration stickers as part : of the registration renewal process for Pennsylvania. The research consisted of a comprehensive literature review, a : survey of...

Engaging Student Borrowers: Results of a Survey of Financial Aid Professionals. Research Report

Science.gov (United States)

Webster, Jeff; Fernandez, Chris; Fletcher, Carla; Klepfer, Kasey

2017-01-01

The rising cost of attending college creates a financial challenge for most students, many of whom must take out student loans to pursue their education goals. Whether or not they earn a degree, these students will leave school with the burden of managing student debt. How well they manage this complex process may shape their personal finances for…

Deformable image registration using convolutional neural networks

Science.gov (United States)

Eppenhof, Koen A. J.; Lafarge, Maxime W.; Moeskops, Pim; Veta, Mitko; Pluim, Josien P. W.

2018-03-01

Deformable image registration can be time-consuming and often needs extensive parameterization to perform well on a specific application. We present a step towards a registration framework based on a three-dimensional convolutional neural network. The network directly learns transformations between pairs of three-dimensional images. The outputs of the network are three maps for the x, y, and z components of a thin plate spline transformation grid. The network is trained on synthetic random transformations, which are applied to a small set of representative images for the desired application. Training therefore does not require manually annotated ground truth deformation information. The methodology is demonstrated on public data sets of inspiration-expiration lung CT image pairs, which come with annotated corresponding landmarks for evaluation of the registration accuracy. Advantages of this methodology are its fast registration times and its minimal parameterization.

Behaviors study of image registration algorithms in image guided radiation therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zou Lian; Hou Qing

2008-01-01

Objective: Study the behaviors of image registration algorithms, and analyze the elements which influence the performance of image registrations. Methods: Pre-known corresponding coordinates were appointed for reference image and moving image, and then the influence of region of interest (ROI) selection, transformation function initial parameters and coupled parameter spaces on registration results were studied with a software platform developed in home. Results: Region of interest selection had a manifest influence on registration performance. An improperly chosen ROI resulted in a bad registration. Transformation function initial parameters selection based on pre-known information could improve the accuracy of image registration. Coupled parameter spaces would enhance the dependence of image registration algorithm on ROI selection. Conclusions: It is necessary for clinic IGRT to obtain a ROI selection strategy (depending on specific commercial software) correlated to tumor sites. Three suggestions for image registration technique developers are automatic selection of the initial parameters of transformation function based on pre-known information, developing specific image registration algorithm for specific image feature, and assembling real-time image registration algorithms according to tumor sites selected by software user. (authors)

Avoiding Stair-Step Artifacts in Image Registration for GOES-R Navigation and Registration Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Grycewicz, Thomas J.; Tan, Bin; Isaacson, Peter J.; De Luccia, Frank J.; Dellomo, John

2016-01-01

In developing software for independent verification and validation (IVV) of the Image Navigation and Registration (INR) capability for the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite R Series (GOES-R) Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI), we have encountered an image registration artifact which limits the accuracy of image offset estimation at the subpixel scale using image correlation. Where the two images to be registered have the same pixel size, subpixel image registration preferentially selects registration values where the image pixel boundaries are close to lined up. Because of the shape of a curve plotting input displacement to estimated offset, we call this a stair-step artifact. When one image is at a higher resolution than the other, the stair-step artifact is minimized by correlating at the higher resolution. For validating ABI image navigation, GOES-R images are correlated with Landsat-based ground truth maps. To create the ground truth map, the Landsat image is first transformed to the perspective seen from the GOES-R satellite, and then is scaled to an appropriate pixel size. Minimizing processing time motivates choosing the map pixels to be the same size as the GOES-R pixels. At this pixel size image processing of the shift estimate is efficient, but the stair-step artifact is present. If the map pixel is very small, stair-step is not a problem, but image correlation is computation-intensive. This paper describes simulation-based selection of the scale for truth maps for registering GOES-R ABI images.

Financial Village Standing in Indonesian Financial System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Herry Purnomo

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Financial resources of the village that are sourced from a country or a Regional Finance Financial based Law Number 6 Year 2014 of The Village is the mandate of the law that must be allocated to the village. The interconnectedness of the financial position of the village in the financial system of the country or Region concerned the Financial administrative and territorial relations, and there is no setting directly regarding the finances of the village as part of the financial system of the country or the financial area. In respect of the elements of the crime of corruption deeds against financial irregularities of the village there are still disagreements on the interpretation of the law in trapping the perpetrators of corruption on the village chief that implies not satisfy the principle of legality and legal certainty in the ruling of the matter of financial irregularities. In fact, many of the village chief or Councilor caught the criminal offence of corruption over the use of financial irregularities. This research analyzes How the financial position of the village in the financial system of the country or region, as well as whether the financial resources of the village is derived from the state budget or region budget managed in village budget belongs to the category of village finances and whether tort against the financial management of the village can be categorized as a criminal act corruption. How To Cite: Purnomo, H. (2015. Financial Village Standing in Indonesian Financial System. Rechtsidee, 2(2, 121-140. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.21070/jihr.v2i2.81

Intensity-based hierarchical elastic registration using approximating splines.

Science.gov (United States)

Serifovic-Trbalic, Amira; Demirovic, Damir; Cattin, Philippe C

2014-01-01

We introduce a new hierarchical approach for elastic medical image registration using approximating splines. In order to obtain the dense deformation field, we employ Gaussian elastic body splines (GEBS) that incorporate anisotropic landmark errors and rotation information. Since the GEBS approach is based on a physical model in form of analytical solutions of the Navier equation, it can very well cope with the local as well as global deformations present in the images by varying the standard deviation of the Gaussian forces. The proposed GEBS approximating model is integrated into the elastic hierarchical image registration framework, which decomposes a nonrigid registration problem into numerous local rigid transformations. The approximating GEBS registration scheme incorporates anisotropic landmark errors as well as rotation information. The anisotropic landmark localization uncertainties can be estimated directly from the image data, and in this case, they represent the minimal stochastic localization error, i.e., the Cramér-Rao bound. The rotation information of each landmark obtained from the hierarchical procedure is transposed in an additional angular landmark, doubling the number of landmarks in the GEBS model. The modified hierarchical registration using the approximating GEBS model is applied to register 161 image pairs from a digital mammogram database. The obtained results are very encouraging, and the proposed approach significantly improved all registrations comparing the mean-square error in relation to approximating TPS with the rotation information. On artificially deformed breast images, the newly proposed method performed better than the state-of-the-art registration algorithm introduced by Rueckert et al. (IEEE Trans Med Imaging 18:712-721, 1999). The average error per breast tissue pixel was less than 2.23 pixels compared to 2.46 pixels for Rueckert's method. The proposed hierarchical elastic image registration approach incorporates the GEBS

Registration accuracy and quality of real-life images.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei-Yen Hsu

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: A common registration problem for the application of consumer device is to align all the acquired image sequences into a complete scene. Image alignment requires a registration algorithm that will compensate as much as possible for geometric variability among images. However, images captured views from a real scene usually produce different distortions. Some are derived from the optic characteristics of image sensors, and others are caused by the specific scenes and objects. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: An image registration algorithm considering the perspective projection is proposed for the application of consumer devices in this study. It exploits a multiresolution wavelet-based method to extract significant features. An analytic differential approach is then proposed to achieve fast convergence of point matching. Finally, the registration accuracy is further refined to obtain subpixel precision by a feature-based modified Levenberg-Marquardt method. Due to its feature-based and nonlinear characteristic, it converges considerably faster than most other methods. In addition, vignette compensation and color difference adjustment are also performed to further improve the quality of registration results. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The performance of the proposed method is evaluated by testing the synthetic and real images acquired by a hand-held digital still camera and in comparison with two registration techniques in terms of the squared sum of intensity differences (SSD and correlation coefficient (CC. The results indicate that the proposed method is promising in registration accuracy and quality, which are statistically significantly better than other two approaches.

The Role of Family Control on Financial Performance of Family Business in Gebze

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Huriye Sabancı Özer

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This paper analysis the role of family control on financial performance of family business by using the key financial data of family businesses of 16 firm registred to Gebze Chamber of Commerce. In this paper, financial performance of a family business is measured by using Return on Assets, Return on Sales and Total Debt/Total Assets ratios. The family member CEO is more successful as far as ROA ratios concerned, but is less successful as far as TD/TA ratios concerned, in comparison to non family member CEO. In other words, the non family member CEO is more successful as far as TD/TA ratios concerned, but is less successful as far as ROA ratios concerned, in comparison to family member CEO. Additionally, as far as ROS ratios concerned, there is no significant difference between family member CEO and non family member CEO. Overall, the results are consistent with the hypotheses that there is difference between ROA of family member CEO and non family member CEO, and there is difference between TD/TA of family member CEO and non family member CEO.

Deformable image registration using convolutional neural networks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Eppenhof, Koen A.J.; Lafarge, Maxime W.; Moeskops, Pim; Veta, Mitko; Pluim, Josien P.W.

2018-01-01

Deformable image registration can be time-consuming and often needs extensive parameterization to perform well on a specific application. We present a step towards a registration framework based on a three-dimensional convolutional neural network. The network directly learns transformations between

FINANCIAL INSTABILITY, FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND POVERTY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ionescu Cristian

2012-12-01

Full Text Available There is a positive relationship between financial development and economic growth in short-run and long-run. Financial development is beneficial to the reduction of poverty. But the financial instability which accompanies financial development is is costly for the poor and reduces the positive effect of financial development on the reduction of poverty. The paper aims to analyze in detail the relationship and the (direct and indirect effects between these variables, taking into account their economic and social importance. It is also highlighted the correlation between the financial economy and the real economy, emphasizing the impact on social welfare involved by the interaction of the above mentioned variables.

Financial Literacy and Financial Behaviour

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sayinzoga, Aussi; Bulte, Erwin H.; Lensink, Robert

2016-01-01

We organise a field experiment with smallholder farmers in Rwanda to measure the impact of financial literacy training on financial knowledge and behaviour. The training increased financial literacy of participants, changed their savings and borrowing behaviour and had a positive effect on the

The role of image registration in brain mapping

Science.gov (United States)

Toga, A.W.; Thompson, P.M.

2008-01-01

Image registration is a key step in a great variety of biomedical imaging applications. It provides the ability to geometrically align one dataset with another, and is a prerequisite for all imaging applications that compare datasets across subjects, imaging modalities, or across time. Registration algorithms also enable the pooling and comparison of experimental findings across laboratories, the construction of population-based brain atlases, and the creation of systems to detect group patterns in structural and functional imaging data. We review the major types of registration approaches used in brain imaging today. We focus on their conceptual basis, the underlying mathematics, and their strengths and weaknesses in different contexts. We describe the major goals of registration, including data fusion, quantification of change, automated image segmentation and labeling, shape measurement, and pathology detection. We indicate that registration algorithms have great potential when used in conjunction with a digital brain atlas, which acts as a reference system in which brain images can be compared for statistical analysis. The resulting armory of registration approaches is fundamental to medical image analysis, and in a brain mapping context provides a means to elucidate clinical, demographic, or functional trends in the anatomy or physiology of the brain. PMID:19890483

Multimodality image registration with software: state-of-the-art

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Slomka, Piotr J.; Baum, Richard P.

2009-01-01

Multimodality image integration of functional and anatomical data can be performed by means of dedicated hybrid imaging systems or by software image co-registration techniques. Hybrid positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) systems have found wide acceptance in oncological imaging, while software registration techniques have a significant role in patient-specific, cost-effective, and radiation dose-effective application of integrated imaging. Software techniques allow accurate (2-3 mm) rigid image registration of brain PET with CT and MRI. Nonlinear techniques are used in whole-body image registration, and recent developments allow for significantly accelerated computing times. Nonlinear software registration of PET with CT or MRI is required for multimodality radiation planning. Difficulties remain in the validation of nonlinear registration of soft tissue organs. The utilization of software-based multimodality image integration in a clinical environment is sometimes hindered by the lack of appropriate picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) infrastructure needed to efficiently and automatically integrate all available images into one common database. In cardiology applications, multimodality PET/single photon emission computed tomography and coronary CT angiography imaging is typically not required unless the results of one of the tests are equivocal. Software image registration is likely to be used in a complementary fashion with hybrid PET/CT or PET/magnetic resonance imaging systems. Software registration of stand-alone scans ''paved the way'' for the clinical application of hybrid scanners, demonstrating practical benefits of image integration before the hybrid dual-modality devices were available. (orig.)

Market Research on Law School Student Aid Award Letters and Shopping Sheet Information. NASFAA Consumer Information & Law Student Indebtedness Task Force Report

Science.gov (United States)

National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, 2016

2016-01-01

"Market Research on Law School Student Aid Award Letters and Shopping Sheet Information" set out to identify through consumer testing what information on the financial aid award letter and U.S. Department of Education's (ED) Shopping Sheet could be modified to create a document that better assists students applying to, or currently…

FINANCIAL DEPTH AND FINANCIAL ACCESS IN INDONESIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sigit Setiawan

2015-05-01

Full Text Available This study is intended to analyze the current levels of financial depth and financial access in Indonesia and to analyze the factors affecting them. The analysis method used was a combination of descriptive quantitative, benchmarking, and literature reviews. The conclusion is that the financial depth in Indonesia has not shown a satisfactory level since it was the lowest, or the second lowest ranked country among the sampled countries. Meanwhile, the financial access in Indonesia is relatively better than its financial depth, especially for financial markets, in which Indonesia ranks in the lower average group. From literature reviews, it can be inferred that the main factor driving the poor financial depth in Indonesia is non-competitiveness of the institutions; whereas the driving force of poor financial access in Indonesia are geographical constraints, poverty, a high income gap, and a less than effective national financial development policy.

76 FR 27898 - Registration and Recordation Program

Science.gov (United States)

2011-05-13

... to reflect a reorganization that has moved the Recordation function from the Visual Arts and... function from the Visual Arts and Recordation Division of the Registration and Recordation Program to the... Visual Arts Division of the Registration and Recordation Program, has been renamed the Recordation...

On combining algorithms for deformable image registration

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Muenzing, S.E.A.; Ginneken, van B.; Pluim, J.P.W.; Dawant, B.M.

2012-01-01

We propose a meta-algorithm for registration improvement by combining deformable image registrations (MetaReg). It is inspired by a well-established method from machine learning, the combination of classifiers. MetaReg consists of two main components: (1) A strategy for composing an improved

Numerical methods for image registration

CERN Document Server

Modersitzki, Jan

2003-01-01

Based on the author's lecture notes and research, this well-illustrated and comprehensive text is one of the first to provide an introduction to image registration with particular emphasis on numerical methods in medical imaging. Ideal for researchers in industry and academia, it is also a suitable study guide for graduate mathematicians, computer scientists, engineers, medical physicists, and radiologists.Image registration is utilised whenever information obtained from different viewpoints needs to be combined or compared and unwanted distortion needs to be eliminated. For example, CCTV imag

Propagation of registration uncertainty during multi-fraction cervical cancer brachytherapy

Science.gov (United States)

Amir-Khalili, A.; Hamarneh, G.; Zakariaee, R.; Spadinger, I.; Abugharbieh, R.

2017-10-01

Multi-fraction cervical cancer brachytherapy is a form of image-guided radiotherapy that heavily relies on 3D imaging during treatment planning, delivery, and quality control. In this context, deformable image registration can increase the accuracy of dosimetric evaluations, provided that one can account for the uncertainties associated with the registration process. To enable such capability, we propose a mathematical framework that first estimates the registration uncertainty and subsequently propagates the effects of the computed uncertainties from the registration stage through to the visualizations, organ segmentations, and dosimetric evaluations. To ensure the practicality of our proposed framework in real world image-guided radiotherapy contexts, we implemented our technique via a computationally efficient and generalizable algorithm that is compatible with existing deformable image registration software. In our clinical context of fractionated cervical cancer brachytherapy, we perform a retrospective analysis on 37 patients and present evidence that our proposed methodology for computing and propagating registration uncertainties may be beneficial during therapy planning and quality control. Specifically, we quantify and visualize the influence of registration uncertainty on dosimetric analysis during the computation of the total accumulated radiation dose on the bladder wall. We further show how registration uncertainty may be leveraged into enhanced visualizations that depict the quality of the registration and highlight potential deviations from the treatment plan prior to the delivery of radiation treatment. Finally, we show that we can improve the transfer of delineated volumetric organ segmentation labels from one fraction to the next by encoding the computed registration uncertainties into the segmentation labels.

Feature-Based Retinal Image Registration Using D-Saddle Feature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roziana Ramli

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Retinal image registration is important to assist diagnosis and monitor retinal diseases, such as diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma. However, registering retinal images for various registration applications requires the detection and distribution of feature points on the low-quality region that consists of vessels of varying contrast and sizes. A recent feature detector known as Saddle detects feature points on vessels that are poorly distributed and densely positioned on strong contrast vessels. Therefore, we propose a multiresolution difference of Gaussian pyramid with Saddle detector (D-Saddle to detect feature points on the low-quality region that consists of vessels with varying contrast and sizes. D-Saddle is tested on Fundus Image Registration (FIRE Dataset that consists of 134 retinal image pairs. Experimental results show that D-Saddle successfully registered 43% of retinal image pairs with average registration accuracy of 2.329 pixels while a lower success rate is observed in other four state-of-the-art retinal image registration methods GDB-ICP (28%, Harris-PIIFD (4%, H-M (16%, and Saddle (16%. Furthermore, the registration accuracy of D-Saddle has the weakest correlation (Spearman with the intensity uniformity metric among all methods. Finally, the paired t-test shows that D-Saddle significantly improved the overall registration accuracy of the original Saddle.

Financial analysis as a financial management instrument

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stehlíková Beáta

2001-12-01

Full Text Available The financial market is one of the elements of the market-oriented economy. The financial analysis is a fundamental element of the financial controlling business. The purpose of this article is to inform briefly about horizontal and vertical financial statements analysis as the source of competitive advantage of the firm. The article is divided into two parts. First describes financial analysis and financial statements generally. Second, it presents a practical contribution of the horizontal and vertical financial statements analysis at the controlled businesses as financial management tools, which identify the financial position, market behaviour, correlations between the net profit and the prohibitively cost and operating profit, the financial activities profit, the income tax etc.Business, which the analysed firm operates in asks a provable claim on the high value of fixed assets. The capital composition of the firm is call to typify for the state-owned enterprise that was transformed to private joint-stock companies. Analysis is specially pleading for the needs considering the price of the borrowed capital in the capital structure rating. Fault factor ø value talks about needs for the cost regulation. Stair-step conception used for counting of the net profit in the accountant period indicates the financial profit, alternatively loss, as the distinguished pre-tax profit element. Picture about firm’s financial results can be completed with the information about the income tax value. Form of financial analyses presented in the article entablature the accents on the necessity to compare several accounting period and on the necessity of complex understanding of statements accounting slide “en bloc”.Financial analyse makes the decision makers possible to screen potential partners before the cooperation starts. On the other side, it makes a possibility to influence the production process, sales and financial management during the accounting

Cracking the Student Aid Code: Parent and Student Perspectives on Paying for College

Science.gov (United States)

College Board Advocacy & Policy Center, 2010

2010-01-01

Paying for college is a challenge for many Americans and navigating the financial aid process can be very difficult, especially for low-income and first-generation college students. The College Board commissioned research to learn more about students' and parents' knowledge, beliefs and attitudes about the importance of a college education and how…

Cloud Classification in Wide-Swath Passive Sensor Images Aided by Narrow-Swath Active Sensor Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hongxia Wang

2018-05-01

Full Text Available It is a challenge to distinguish between different cloud types because of the complexity and diversity of cloud coverage, which is a significant clutter source that impacts on target detection and identification from the images of space-based infrared sensors. In this paper, a novel strategy for cloud classification in wide-swath passive sensor images is developed, which is aided by narrow-swath active sensor data. The strategy consists of three steps, that is, the orbit registration, most matching donor pixel selection, and cloud type assignment for each recipient pixel. A new criterion for orbit registration is proposed so as to improve the matching accuracy. The most matching donor pixel is selected via the Euclidean distance and the square sum of the radiance relative differences between the recipient and the potential donor pixels. Each recipient pixel is then assigned a cloud type that corresponds to the most matching donor. The cloud classification of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS images is performed with the aid of the data from Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR. The results are compared with the CloudSat product 2B-CLDCLASS, as well as those that are obtained using the method of the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP, which demonstrates the superior classification performance of the proposed strategy.

77 FR 24690 - Notice of Proposed Information Collection Requests; Federal Student Aid; Pell Grant, ACG, and...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-25

... DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Notice of Proposed Information Collection Requests; Federal Student Aid; Pell Grant, ACG, and National SMART Reporting Under the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System SUMMARY: The Federal Pell Grant, ACG, and National SMART Programs are student financial assistance...

Co-registration of the BNCT treatment planning images for clinical practice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salli, Eero; Seppaelae, Tiina; Kankaanranta, Leena; Asikainen, Sami; Savolainen, Sauli; Koivunoro, Hanna

2006-01-01

We have co-registered MRI, CT and FBPA-PET images for BNCT in clinical practice. Co-registration improves the spatial accuracy of the treatment planning by enabling use of information from all the co-registered modalities. The multimodal co-registration has been implemented as a service product provided by the Imaging Center of Helsinki University Central Hospital to other departments. To increase the accuracy of co-registration and patient positioning in the head area BNCT, a patient-specific fixation mask suitable for PET, MRI and CT was developed. The goal of the fixation mask is to normalize the orientation of the patient's head and neck. Co-registration is performed at the image processing unit by using a rigid body model, mutual-information based algorithms and partly in-house developed software tools. The accuracy of co-registration is verified by comparing the locations of the external skin markers and anatomical landmarks in different modalities. After co-registration, the images are transformed and covered into a format required by the BNCT dose-planning software and set to the dose-planning unit of the hospital. So far co-registration has been done for 22 patients. The co-registration protocol has proved to be reliable and efficient. Some registration errors are seen on some patients in the neck area because the rigid-body model used in co-registration is not fully valid for the brain-neck entity. The registration accuracy in this area could likely be improved by implementing a co-registration procedure utilizing a partly non-rigid body model. (author)

Temadag om registrering/katalogisering til Web-katalogen

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Hanne Hørl; Hammershøi, Lene

2002-01-01

Referat fra temadag om registrering/katalogisering til Web-katalogen afholdt af DFs Interessekreds for Registrering på RUC d. 13.marts 2002. Oplægsholdere fra Danmark og England gav deres bud på status og udviklingstendenser for arbejdet med at skabe og forbedre web-baserede bibliotekskataloger...

40 CFR 79.4 - Requirement of registration.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... problem, however, a fuel manufacturer may use an additive that he has not previously reported provided... Section 79.4 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) REGISTRATION OF FUELS AND FUEL ADDITIVES General Provisions § 79.4 Requirement of registration. (a) Fuels. (1...

Learning-Based Approaches to Deformable Image Registration

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Münzing, SEA

2014-01-01

Accurate registration of images is an important and often crucial step in many areas of image processing and analysis, yet it is only used in a small percentage of possible applications. Automated registration methods are not considered to be sufficiently robust to handle complex deformations and

Financial Instruments: the Essence, Diversity and Role in the Process of Modernization of the Electric Power Sector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abakumenko Olha V.

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The aim of the article is to clarify the methodological basis for further research concerning analysis of the existing practices and development of proposals on using financial instruments for the modernization of the Ukrainian electric power sector, in particular, to clarify the definition of “financial instruments” and justify their classification, taking into account the defining characteristics. Based on the critical evaluation of various scientific approaches to interpretation of the essence of financial instruments, the author’s definition is proposed. Thus, it is advisable to consider them as means, techniques and methods of attracting financial resources (capital from other entities and as absolutely liquid assets. The generalization and rethinking of the criteria for classification of financial instruments allowed the authors to divide them into financial assets (cash, bank metals, currency, financial obligations (equity and debt instruments, and instruments of irrevocable financial aid (charitable contributions, grants, crowdfunding, fundraising. The received methodological conclusions quite fully characterize the essence and variety of types of financial instruments, taking into account their principal properties, which will allow to make a well-considered justification for choosing the optimal instruments for the modernization of the electric power sector.

ACIR: automatic cochlea image registration

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Dhamari, Ibraheem; Bauer, Sabine; Paulus, Dietrich; Lissek, Friedrich; Jacob, Roland

2017-02-01

Efficient Cochlear Implant (CI) surgery requires prior knowledge of the cochlea's size and its characteristics. This information helps to select suitable implants for different patients. To get these measurements, a segmentation method of cochlea medical images is needed. An important pre-processing step for good cochlea segmentation involves efficient image registration. The cochlea's small size and complex structure, in addition to the different resolutions and head positions during imaging, reveals a big challenge for the automated registration of the different image modalities. In this paper, an Automatic Cochlea Image Registration (ACIR) method for multi- modal human cochlea images is proposed. This method is based on using small areas that have clear structures from both input images instead of registering the complete image. It uses the Adaptive Stochastic Gradient Descent Optimizer (ASGD) and Mattes's Mutual Information metric (MMI) to estimate 3D rigid transform parameters. The use of state of the art medical image registration optimizers published over the last two years are studied and compared quantitatively using the standard Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC). ACIR requires only 4.86 seconds on average to align cochlea images automatically and to put all the modalities in the same spatial locations without human interference. The source code is based on the tool elastix and is provided for free as a 3D Slicer plugin. Another contribution of this work is a proposed public cochlea standard dataset which can be downloaded for free from a public XNAT server.

Financial satisfaction and financial stressors in marital satisfaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Archuleta, Kristy L; Britt, Sonya L; Tonn, Teresa J; Grable, John E

2011-04-01

Using a sample of 310 married respondents from one U.S. Midwestern state, a test was conducted to examine the association of financial satisfaction and financial stressors in a spouse's decision to stay married to the same person or leave the relationship. The role of demographic and socioeconomic variables, religiosity, psychological constructs, financial satisfaction, and financial stressors as factors influencing marital satisfaction was tested. Financial stressors were measured using a list of financial stressors adapted from the literature. Financial satisfaction was measured with a one-item scale. The Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale was used as a validation tool to assess whether individuals would marry or not marry again. Religiosity and financial satisfaction were positively associated with marital satisfaction. A negative interaction between financial satisfaction and financial stressors was also noted. Findings suggest that respondents who are financially satisfied tend to be more stable in their marriages.

Simple shape space for 3D face registration

Science.gov (United States)

Košir, Andrej; Perkon, Igor; Bracun, Drago; Tasic, Jurij; Mozina, Janez

2009-09-01

Three dimensional (3D) face recognition is a topic getting increasing interest in biometric applications. In our research framework we developed a laser scanner that provides 3D cloud information and texture data. In a user scenario with cooperative subjects with indoor light conditions, we address three problems of 3D face biometrics: the face registration, the formulation of a shape space together with a special designed gradient algorithm and the impact of initial approximation to the convergence of a registration algorithm. By defining the face registration as a problem of aligning a 3D data cloud with a predefined reference template, we solve the registration problem with a second order gradient algorithm working on a shape space designed for reducing the computational complexity of the method.

An evaluation of the prevalence of HIV/AIDS on selected economies of sub-Saharan Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raji Abdulghafar Bello

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Human immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV whose full-blown period is called acquired immunity deficiency syndrome (AIDS is today a terminal disease. While one weakens the body hormones, the other comes to claim the life with its accompanying opportunistic diseases. Several factors have been reviewed to be causing the infection and its prevalence as well as its socio-economic, scientific and cultural dimensions. The cost implication of this ailment is enormous when considered from individual, national or global perspective, especially when the cost of treatment and the cost of the disability adjusted life years (DALYs lost to incapacitation from HIV/AIDS is considered. This study has investigated the financial implications of treatment and the DALYs lost to HIV/AIDS from the perspective of sub-Saharan Africa covering thirty-five countries. Infected population of age 15-49 years were considered, being the active life year age group. Applying Morrow’s DALYs measurement, and Ainsworth’s per capita general rule method of costing HIV/AIDS, it was found that the cost of treatment of HIV/AIDS in any country depends on her economic strength on the one hand and the size of the infected population on the other, to the extent that no country spends or loses less than 3 percent of her national income on treatment and to DALYs. To any country, the financial cost of the DALYs lost to HIV/AIDS is much more than the cost of treatment per episode, mostly huge enough to develop a sector of the country’s economy. However, a single recommendation could be difficult as individual countries experience different effect, but different countries must pursue long-run anti-prevalence policies individually and as economic region or bloc.

3-D brain image registration using optimal morphological processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loncaric, S.; Dhawan, A.P.

1994-01-01

The three-dimensional (3-D) registration of Magnetic Resonance (MR) and Positron Emission Tomographic (PET) images of the brain is important for analysis of the human brain and its diseases. A procedure for optimization of (3-D) morphological structuring elements, based on a genetic algorithm, is presented in the paper. The registration of the MR and PET images is done by means of a registration procedure in two major phases. In the first phase, the Iterative Principal Axis Transform (IPAR) is used for initial registration. In the second phase, the optimal shape description method based on the Morphological Signature Transform (MST) is used for final registration. The morphological processing is used to improve the accuracy of the basic IPAR method. The brain ventricle is used as a landmark for MST registration. A near-optimal structuring element obtained by means of a genetic algorithm is used in MST to describe the shape of the ventricle. The method has been tested on the set of brain images demonstrating the feasibility of approach. (author). 11 refs., 3 figs

Registration of Vibro-acoustography Images and X-ray Mammography.

Science.gov (United States)

Gholam Hosseini, H; Fatemi, M; Alizad, A

2005-01-01

Image registration has been widely used for generating more diagnostic and clinical values in medical imaging. On the other hand, inaccurate image registration and incorrect localization of region of interest risks a potential impact on patients. Vibro-acoustography (VA) is a new imaging modality that has been applied to both medical and industrial imaging. Combining unique diagnostic information of VA with other medical imaging is one of our research interests. In this work, we studied the VA and x-ray image pairs and adopted a flexible control-point selection technique for image registration. A modified second-order polynomial, which leads to a scale/rotation/translation invariant registration, was used. The results of registration were used to spatially transform the breast VA images to map with the x-ray mammography with a registration error of less than 1.65 mm. These two completely different modalities were combined to generate an image including a ratio of each image pixel value. Therefore, the proposed technique allows clinicians to maximize their insight by combining the information from x-ray mammogram and VA modalities into a single image.

Clinical trial registration in physical therapy journals: a cross-sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Babu, Abraham Samuel; Veluswamy, Sundar Kumar; Rao, Pratiksha Tilak; Maiya, Arun G

2014-01-01

Clinical trial registration has become an important part of editorial policies of various biomedical journals, including a few physical therapy journals. However, the extent to which editorial boards enforce the need for trial registration varies across journals. The purpose of this study was to identify editorial policies and reporting of trial registration details in MEDLINE-indexed English-language physical therapy journals. This study was carried out using a cross-sectional design. Editorial policies on trial registration of MEDLINE-indexed member journals of the International Society of Physiotherapy Journal Editors (ISPJE) (Journal of Geriatric Physical Therapy, Journal of Hand Therapy, Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy, Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy, Journal of Physiotherapy [formerly Australian Journal of Physiotherapy], Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, Manual Therapy, Physical Therapy, Physical Therapy in Sport, Physiotherapy, Physiotherapy Research International, Physiotherapy Theory and Practice, and Revista Brasileira de Fisioterapia) were reviewed in April 2013. Full texts of reports of clinical trials published in these journals between January 1, 2008, and December 31, 2012, were independently assessed for information on trial registration. Among the 13 journals, 8 recommended trial registration, and 6 emphasized prospective trial registration. As of April 2013, 4,618 articles were published between January 2008 and December 2012, of which 9% (417) were clinical trials and 29% (121/417) of these reported trial registration details. A positive trend in reporting of trial registration was observed from 2008 to 2012. The study was limited to MEDLINE-indexed ISPJE member journals. Editorial policies on trial registration of physical therapy journals and a rising trend toward reporting of trial registration details indicate a positive momentum toward trial registration. Physical therapy journal editors need to show

21 CFR 607.26 - Amendments to establishment registration.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... registration. Changes in individual ownership, corporate or partnership structure, location, or blood-product...) as an amendment to registration within 5 days of such changes. Changes in the names of officers and...

The impact of financial incentives on the implementation of asthma or diabetes self-management: A systematic review

Science.gov (United States)

Shields, Michael D.; Heaney, Liam G.; Kendall, Marilyn; Pearce, Christina J.; Hui, Chi Yan; Pinnock, Hilary

2017-01-01

outcomes in asthma. Further research is needed to confirm these findings and understand the process by which financial incentives may impact (or not) on care. Trial registration Protocol registration number: CRD42016027411 PMID:29107955

15 CFR 296.7 - Joint venture registration.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Joint venture registration. 296.7 Section 296.7 Commerce and Foreign Trade Regulations Relating to Commerce and Foreign Trade NATIONAL... PROGRAM General § 296.7 Joint venture registration. Joint ventures selected for assistance under the...

Multimodality image registration with software: state-of-the-art

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Slomka, Piotr J. [Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, AIM Program/Department of Imaging, Los Angeles, CA (United States); University of California, David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA (United States); Baum, Richard P. [Center for PET, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Bad Berka (Germany)

2009-03-15

Multimodality image integration of functional and anatomical data can be performed by means of dedicated hybrid imaging systems or by software image co-registration techniques. Hybrid positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) systems have found wide acceptance in oncological imaging, while software registration techniques have a significant role in patient-specific, cost-effective, and radiation dose-effective application of integrated imaging. Software techniques allow accurate (2-3 mm) rigid image registration of brain PET with CT and MRI. Nonlinear techniques are used in whole-body image registration, and recent developments allow for significantly accelerated computing times. Nonlinear software registration of PET with CT or MRI is required for multimodality radiation planning. Difficulties remain in the validation of nonlinear registration of soft tissue organs. The utilization of software-based multimodality image integration in a clinical environment is sometimes hindered by the lack of appropriate picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) infrastructure needed to efficiently and automatically integrate all available images into one common database. In cardiology applications, multimodality PET/single photon emission computed tomography and coronary CT angiography imaging is typically not required unless the results of one of the tests are equivocal. Software image registration is likely to be used in a complementary fashion with hybrid PET/CT or PET/magnetic resonance imaging systems. Software registration of stand-alone scans ''paved the way'' for the clinical application of hybrid scanners, demonstrating practical benefits of image integration before the hybrid dual-modality devices were available. (orig.)

Population based ranking of frameless CT-MRI registration methods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Opposits, Gabor; Kis, Sandor A.; Tron, Lajos; Emri, Miklos [Debrecen Univ. (Hungary). Dept. of Nuclear Medicine; Berenyi, Ervin [Debrecen Univ. (Hungary). Dept. of Biomedical Laboratory and Imaging Science; Takacs, Endre [Rotating Gamma Ltd., Debrecen (Hungary); Dobai, Jozsef G.; Bognar, Laszlo [Debrecen Univ., Medical Center (Hungary). Dept. of Neurosurgery; Szuecs, Bernadett [ScanoMed Ltd., Debrecen (Hungary)

2015-07-01

Clinical practice often requires simultaneous information obtained by two different imaging modalities. Registration algorithms are commonly used for this purpose. Automated procedures are very helpful in cases when the same kind of registration has to be performed on images of a high number of subjects. Radiotherapists would prefer to use the best automated method to assist therapy planning, however there are not accepted procedures for ranking the different registration algorithms. We were interested in developing a method to measure the population level performance of CT-MRI registration algorithms by a parameter of values in the [0,1] interval. Pairs of CT and MRI images were collected from 1051 subjects. Results of an automated registration were corrected manually until a radiologist and a neurosurgeon expert both accepted the result as good. This way 1051 registered MRI images were produced by the same pair of experts to be used as gold standards for the evaluation of the performance of other registration algorithms. Pearson correlation coefficient, mutual information, normalized mutual information, Kullback-Leibler divergence, L{sub 1} norm and square L{sub 2} norm (dis)similarity measures were tested for sensitivity to indicate the extent of (dis)similarity of a pair of individual mismatched images. The square Hellinger distance proved suitable to grade the performance of registration algorithms at population level providing the developers with a valuable tool to rank algorithms. The developed procedure provides an objective method to find the registration algorithm performing the best on the population level out of newly constructed or available preselected ones.

Laser interrogation of latent vehicle registration number

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Russo, R.E. [Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (United States). Energy and Environment Div.]|[Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States). Forensic Science Center; Pelkey, G.E. [City of Livermore Police Dept., CA (United States); Grant, P.; Whipple, R.E.; Andresen, B.D. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States). Forensic Science Center

1994-09-01

A recent investigation involved automobile registration numbers as important evidentiary specimens. In California, as in most states, small, thin metallic decals are issued to owners of vehicles each year as the registration is renewed. The decals are applied directly to the license plate of the vehicle and typically on top of the previous year`s expired decal. To afford some degree of security, the individual registration decals have been designed to tear easily; they cannot be separated from each other, but can be carefully removed intact from the metal license plate by using a razor blade. In September 1993, the City of Livermore Police Department obtained a blue 1993 California decal that had been placed over an orange 1992 decal. The two decals were being investigated as possible evidence in a case involving vehicle registration fraud. To confirm the suspicion and implicate a suspect, the department needed to known the registration number on the bottom (completely covered) 1992 decal. The authors attempted to use intense and directed light to interrogate the colored stickers. Optical illumination using a filtered white-light source partially identified the latent number. However, the most successful technique used a tunable dye laser pumped by a pulsed Nd:YAG laser. By selectively tuning the wavelength and intensity of the dye laser, backlit illumination of the decals permitted visualization of the underlying registration number through the surface of the top sticker. With optimally-tuned wavelength and intensity, 100% accuracy was obtained in identifying the sequence of latent characters. The advantage of optical techniques is their completely nondestructive nature, thus preserving the evidence for further interrogation or courtroom presentation.

Pesticide Registration Information System

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — PRISM provides an integrated, web portal for all pesticide related data, communications, registrations and transactions for OPP and its stakeholders, partners and...

A Novel Technique for Prealignment in Multimodality Medical Image Registration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wu Zhou

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Image pair is often aligned initially based on a rigid or affine transformation before a deformable registration method is applied in medical image registration. Inappropriate initial registration may compromise the registration speed or impede the convergence of the optimization algorithm. In this work, a novel technique was proposed for prealignment in both monomodality and multimodality image registration based on statistical correlation of gradient information. A simple and robust algorithm was proposed to determine the rotational differences between two images based on orientation histogram matching accumulated from local orientation of each pixel without any feature extraction. Experimental results showed that it was effective to acquire the orientation angle between two unregistered images with advantages over the existed method based on edge-map in multimodalities. Applying the orientation detection into the registration of CT/MR, T1/T2 MRI, and monomadality images with respect to rigid and nonrigid deformation improved the chances of finding the global optimization of the registration and reduced the search space of optimization.

Linkages between financial development, financial instability, financial liberalisation and economic growth in Africa

OpenAIRE

Enowbi Batuo, M.; Mlambo, Kupukile; Asongu, Simplice

2017-01-01

In the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis, the implications of financial liberalisation for stability and economic growth has come under increased scrutiny. One strand of literature posits a positive relationship between financial liberalisation and economic growth and development. However, others emphasise the link between financial liberalisation is intrinsically associated with financial instability which may be harmful to economic growth and development. This study assesses ...

[Governance of HIV/AIDS organizations in Bobo-Dioulasso (Burkina Faso)].

Science.gov (United States)

Sanon, Anselme; Berthé, Abdramane; Traoré, Isidore; Ouédraogo, Salif; Etoudji, Albert; Konaté, Issouf; Thiénou, Jean Richard; Konaté, Blahima; Barbari, Aboubaracri; Soulama, Achille; Nagot, Nicolas

2014-01-01

Although HIV/AIDS organizations continue to play a major role in the fight against pandemic HIV infections, they are still faced with enormous governance challenges that impair their operations / interventions and their sustainability. The objective of this study was to develop an inventory of the quality of governance within HIV/AIDS organizations in Bobo-Dioulasso. This qualitative research was conducted in 40 organizations from Bobo-Dioulasso. Qualitative data were collected over a 45-day period using an interview guide. Thematic analysis of the data was performed and the results were reported. Although all 40 organizations had established good governance mechanisms, only fifteen complied with the major rules of democratic functioning and the roles of the various bodies. The majority of these organizations (29/40) ignored many democratic rules. The number of members required for the Executive Board was not met in 29/40 organizations resulting in monopolization of decision-making by a handful of people. Technical and financial reports were not published, resulting in limited access to information on the organization's activities. Gender equality also constituted a weakness. Application of good governance principles was limited in these organizations. Organization members, leaders and technical and financial partners must reinforce good governance efforts in order to improve good governance in these organizations.

Financial Literacy and Financial Planning in France

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luc Arrondel

2013-07-01

Full Text Available We study financial literacy in France using the PATER survey and following the Lusardi and Mitchell (2011c approach. We find that some subpopulations are less financially literate than others: women, young and old people as well as less-educated people are more likely to face difficulties when dealing with fundamental financial concepts such as risk diversification and inflation and interest compounding. We also find some differences in financial knowledge depending on the political opinion of the respondents. Finally we show that these differences in financial knowledge are correlated with differences in the propensity to plan: people who score higher on the financial literacy questions are more likely to be engaged in the preparation of a clearly defined financial plan.

Alternative Conceptions of the Federal Role in Education: Thinking Anew about What to Aid, and How.

Science.gov (United States)

Finn, Chester E., Jr.

1982-01-01

A critique of federal education policy discusses questionable purposes, flaws in aid-dispensing mechanisms, and undue regulatory burdens and other constraints. The proper federal role in education is described, involving information dissemination, educational improvement through federal programs, compensation, and financial assistance. (CJ)

STATE AID EVOLUTION OVERVIEW IN EUROPEAN UNION CONTEXT DURING THE PERIOD 2007-2012

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anca D.B., DODESCU

2014-11-01

Full Text Available According to the European Union point of view, the fundamental principle of state aid is to ensure that inside the single market, competition is not distorted. In this context, by exception state aid can be justified when they contribute to achieving EU's social and economic goals. This may take place when market forces obstruct the achieving of the proposed objectives or permit their achieving on unacceptable long terms and costs. This article is structured in four parts, focusing on European Union's vision regarding state aid measures. The first part of the article refers to the general context of state aid in EU. The second part of the article tries to define this concept according to European Commission point of view and also studies the state aid information provided by the EU, through its benchmarking instrument regarding state aid expenditure called State Aid Scoreboard. The third part of the article mainly presents the EU state aid evolution during the period 2007 - 2012 and establishes a methodological point of view in order to classify and divide state aid in two main categories: non-crisis state aid and crisis state aid, with the purpose of avoiding the distortion trends regarding state aid expenditure granted for the financial sector. This part of the article also presents different types of state aid at EU27 level and granted by the selected member states (Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Germany between 2007 and 2012 and also analysis horizontal aid, sectorial aid and state aid during the economic crisis 2008 - 2012, referring to recapitalization and asset relief measures and guarantees and liquidity measures. The last part of the article presents the conclusions and also states certain recommendations regarding EU state aid practices, based on the results obtained.

Towards the conceptualisation of flow in corporate financial reporting theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antoinette Rehwinkel

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Developments in science, technology and sophisticated interconnected social networks increase the speed and volatility of the flow of economic-related energies, such as financial and intellectual capital. These developments require an information theory on corporate financial reporting that is stable at a fundamental level and focused on the disclosure of those systemic attributes that are pivotal to the sustenance of business entities operating in the global economy, or in economies with similar traits. The limited success in attaining stability is caused by, among others, the application of diverse, restricted and even opposing perspectives, resulting in random theoretical development, often unaligned with economic reality. The main aim of the article is to investigate whether the introduction of an underlying concept, principle or theorem, founded on the phenomenon of flow, to general- purpose corporate financial reporting theory could contribute to rendering stable guidance for coherent theoretical development while simultaneously enhancing alignment with the current global economy. As the study was conducted at conceptual level, a qualitative, transdisciplinary theoretical research methodology was applied by taking into account related basic concepts of philosophy, corporate financial reporting theory, economics, management accounting, physics and complexity. The study suggests that the conceptualisation of flow in general-purpose corporate financial reporting theory could contribute to rendering stable guidance for further coherent theoretical development, and improve on the alignment of the theory with the dynamics of the current global economy. This finding creates the opportunity to explore a variety of new reporting approaches from a scientific perspective, which could aid to enhance the disclosure of useful financial information.

CO2 emissions and financial development in an emerging economy: An augmented VAR approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abbasi, Faiza; Riaz, Khalid

2016-01-01

This paper explores the influence of economic and financial development on carbon emissions in a small emerging economy. The study employs ARDL approach to investigate the long run relationship between carbon emissions and a set of economic and financial variables, an Error Correction Model (ECM) to capture the short run dynamics, Granger causality in an augmented VAR framework to check the causality direction, and variance decomposition based on an estimated Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) to determine the relative contributions of economic and financial variables to the evolution of per capita carbon emissions. The periods considered were the full sample (1971–2011), and a reduced sample sub-period (1988–2011) that corresponded to greater liberalization and financial sector development. The financial variables played a role in emission mitigation only in the latter period where greater degree of liberalization and financial sector development occurred. Even then the relative magnitude of emissions mitigation attributable to financial variables was much smaller compared to the emissions raising impact of rising per capita incomes. This underscores the need for adopting other mitigation policies for reducing carbon footprints in those emerging economies where a sufficient degree of financial deepening and financial sector development has not yet taken place. - Highlights: • In economies where structural transformation of financial sector is in early stages. • Financial development does not aid in mitigating CO 2 emissions rather it increases it. • CO 2 emissions rise as per capita income rises. • Government should devise comprehensive and realistic mitigation strategies.

Corporate Investments in Asian Emerging Markets: Financial Conditions, Financial Development, and Financial Constraints

OpenAIRE

Wang, Jianxin; Gochoco-Bautista, Maria Socorro; Sotocinal, Noli

2013-01-01

Motivated by the literature on the finance–growth nexus, this paper explores the mechanisms through which finance affects corporate investments and capital accumulation. We separate the effects of financial conditions from those of financial development. Based on a sample of firms from five Asian emerging economies, we find that (1) financial conditions and financial development affect corporate investments through different channels. Financial conditions affect firms' growth opportunities an...

Interactive initialization of 2D/3D rigid registration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gong, Ren Hui; Güler, Özgür [The Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation, Children' s National Medical Center, Washington, DC 20010 (United States); Kürklüoglu, Mustafa [Department of Cardiac Surgery, Children' s National Medical Center, Washington, DC 20010 (United States); Lovejoy, John [Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine, Children' s National Medical Center, Washington, DC 20010 (United States); Yaniv, Ziv, E-mail: ZYaniv@childrensnational.org [The Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation, Children' s National Medical Center, Washington, DC 20010 and Departments of Pediatrics and Radiology, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20037 (United States)

2013-12-15

Purpose: Registration is one of the key technical components in an image-guided navigation system. A large number of 2D/3D registration algorithms have been previously proposed, but have not been able to transition into clinical practice. The authors identify the primary reason for the lack of adoption with the prerequisite for a sufficiently accurate initial transformation, mean target registration error of about 10 mm or less. In this paper, the authors present two interactive initialization approaches that provide the desired accuracy for x-ray/MR and x-ray/CT registration in the operating room setting. Methods: The authors have developed two interactive registration methods based on visual alignment of a preoperative image, MR, or CT to intraoperative x-rays. In the first approach, the operator uses a gesture based interface to align a volume rendering of the preoperative image to multiple x-rays. The second approach uses a tracked tool available as part of a navigation system. Preoperatively, a virtual replica of the tool is positioned next to the anatomical structures visible in the volumetric data. Intraoperatively, the physical tool is positioned in a similar manner and subsequently used to align a volume rendering to the x-ray images using an augmented reality (AR) approach. Both methods were assessed using three publicly available reference data sets for 2D/3D registration evaluation. Results: In the authors' experiments, the authors show that for x-ray/MR registration, the gesture based method resulted in a mean target registration error (mTRE) of 9.3 ± 5.0 mm with an average interaction time of 146.3 ± 73.0 s, and the AR-based method had mTREs of 7.2 ± 3.2 mm with interaction times of 44 ± 32 s. For x-ray/CT registration, the gesture based method resulted in a mTRE of 7.4 ± 5.0 mm with an average interaction time of 132.1 ± 66.4 s, and the AR-based method had mTREs of 8.3 ± 5.0 mm with interaction times of 58 ± 52 s. Conclusions: Based on

Interactive initialization of 2D/3D rigid registration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gong, Ren Hui; Güler, Özgür; Kürklüoglu, Mustafa; Lovejoy, John; Yaniv, Ziv

2013-01-01

Purpose: Registration is one of the key technical components in an image-guided navigation system. A large number of 2D/3D registration algorithms have been previously proposed, but have not been able to transition into clinical practice. The authors identify the primary reason for the lack of adoption with the prerequisite for a sufficiently accurate initial transformation, mean target registration error of about 10 mm or less. In this paper, the authors present two interactive initialization approaches that provide the desired accuracy for x-ray/MR and x-ray/CT registration in the operating room setting. Methods: The authors have developed two interactive registration methods based on visual alignment of a preoperative image, MR, or CT to intraoperative x-rays. In the first approach, the operator uses a gesture based interface to align a volume rendering of the preoperative image to multiple x-rays. The second approach uses a tracked tool available as part of a navigation system. Preoperatively, a virtual replica of the tool is positioned next to the anatomical structures visible in the volumetric data. Intraoperatively, the physical tool is positioned in a similar manner and subsequently used to align a volume rendering to the x-ray images using an augmented reality (AR) approach. Both methods were assessed using three publicly available reference data sets for 2D/3D registration evaluation. Results: In the authors' experiments, the authors show that for x-ray/MR registration, the gesture based method resulted in a mean target registration error (mTRE) of 9.3 ± 5.0 mm with an average interaction time of 146.3 ± 73.0 s, and the AR-based method had mTREs of 7.2 ± 3.2 mm with interaction times of 44 ± 32 s. For x-ray/CT registration, the gesture based method resulted in a mTRE of 7.4 ± 5.0 mm with an average interaction time of 132.1 ± 66.4 s, and the AR-based method had mTREs of 8.3 ± 5.0 mm with interaction times of 58 ± 52 s. Conclusions: Based on the

Understanding Financial Statements. Financial Matters. Board Basics.

Science.gov (United States)

McCarthy, John H.; Turner, Robert M.

1998-01-01

This booklet for trustees of higher education institutions offers guidelines to help trustees understand the institution's financial statements. Individual sections describe the three major financial statements and cover topics such as: (1) standards of the Financial Accounting Standards Board; (2) the "statement of financial position,"…

JALFHCC - Patient Registration Service

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Veterans Affairs — The Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center (JALFHCC) Patient Registration Service supports the operation of the first VA/Navy Federal Health Care Center...

CT image registration in sinogram space.

Science.gov (United States)

Mao, Weihua; Li, Tianfang; Wink, Nicole; Xing, Lei

2007-09-01

Object displacement in a CT scan is generally reflected in CT projection data or sinogram. In this work, the direct relationship between object motion and the change of CT projection data (sinogram) is investigated and this knowledge is applied to create a novel algorithm for sinogram registration. Calculated and experimental results demonstrate that the registration technique works well for registering rigid 2D or 3D motion in parallel and fan beam samplings. Problem and solution for 3D sinogram-based registration of metallic fiducials are also addressed. Since the motion is registered before image reconstruction, the presented algorithm is particularly useful when registering images with metal or truncation artifacts. In addition, this algorithm is valuable for dealing with situations where only limited projection data are available, making it appealing for various applications in image guided radiation therapy.

CT image registration in sinogram space

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mao Weihua; Li Tianfang; Wink, Nicole; Xing Lei

2007-01-01

Object displacement in a CT scan is generally reflected in CT projection data or sinogram. In this work, the direct relationship between object motion and the change of CT projection data (sinogram) is investigated and this knowledge is applied to create a novel algorithm for sinogram registration. Calculated and experimental results demonstrate that the registration technique works well for registering rigid 2D or 3D motion in parallel and fan beam samplings. Problem and solution for 3D sinogram-based registration of metallic fiducials are also addressed. Since the motion is registered before image reconstruction, the presented algorithm is particularly useful when registering images with metal or truncation artifacts. In addition, this algorithm is valuable for dealing with situations where only limited projection data are available, making it appealing for various applications in image guided radiation therapy

Automatic registration of terrestrial point cloud using panoramic reflectance images

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kang, Z.

2008-01-01

Much attention is paid to registration of terrestrial point clouds nowadays. Research is carried out towards improved efficiency and automation of the registration process. This paper reports a new approach for point clouds registration utilizing reflectance panoramic images. The approach follows a

Does financial literacy improve financial inclusion? Cross country evidence

OpenAIRE

Grohmann, Antonia; Klühs, Theres; Menkhoff, Lukas

2017-01-01

While financial inclusion is typically addressed by improving the financial infrastructure we show that financial literacy, representing the demand-side of financial markets, also has a beneficial effect. We study this effect at the cross-country level, which allows to consider institutional variation. Regarding "access to finance", financial infrastructure and financial literacy are mainly substitutes. However, regarding the "use of financial services", the effect of higher financial literac...

Locally orderless registration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Darkner, Sune; Sporring, Jon

2013-01-01

This paper presents a unifying approach for calculating a wide range of popular, but seemingly very different, similarity measures. Our domain is the registration of n-dimensional images sampled on a regular grid, and our approach is well suited for gradient-based optimization algorithms. Our app...

Biomedical Image Registration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 8th International Workshop on Biomedical Image Registration, WBIR 2018, held in Leiden, The Netherlands, in June 2018. The 11 full and poster papers included in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 17 submitted papers. The pap...

Tax-motivated illicit financial flows: A guide for development practitioners

OpenAIRE

Hearson, Martin

2014-01-01

Tax revenue can help governments finance development and decrease reliance on foreign aid. But tax-motivated illicit financial flows – tax evasion, tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning – undermine these efforts. Non-specialists may find that the complex discussion on taxation and IFFs is further complicated by the lack of clear definitions of relevant concepts, and by the often polarized nature of policy debates. This issue paper explains the terms and helps development practitioners and...

Financial ties of principal investigators and randomized controlled trial outcomes: cross sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahn, Rosa; Woodbridge, Alexandra; Abraham, Ann; Saba, Susan; Korenstein, Deborah; Madden, Erin; Boscardin, W John; Keyhani, Salomeh

2017-01-17

 To examine the association between the presence of individual principal investigators' financial ties to the manufacturer of the study drug and the trial's outcomes after accounting for source of research funding.  Cross sectional study of randomized controlled trials (RCTs).  Studies published in "core clinical" journals, as identified by Medline, between 1 January 2013 and 31 December 2013.  Random sample of RCTs focused on drug efficacy.  Association between financial ties of principal investigators and study outcome.  A total of 190 papers describing 195 studies met inclusion criteria. Financial ties between principal investigators and the pharmaceutical industry were present in 132 (67.7%) studies. Of 397 principal investigators, 231 (58%) had financial ties and 166 (42%) did not. Of all principal investigators, 156 (39%) reported advisor/consultancy payments, 81 (20%) reported speakers' fees, 81 (20%) reported unspecified financial ties, 52 (13%) reported honorariums, 52 (13%) reported employee relationships, 52 (13%) reported travel fees, 41 (10%) reported stock ownership, and 20 (5%) reported having a patent related to the study drug. The prevalence of financial ties of principal investigators was 76% (103/136) among positive studies and 49% (29/59) among negative studies. In unadjusted analyses, the presence of a financial tie was associated with a positive study outcome (odds ratio 3.23, 95% confidence interval 1.7 to 6.1). In the primary multivariate analysis, a financial tie was significantly associated with positive RCT outcome after adjustment for the study funding source (odds ratio 3.57 (1.7 to 7.7). The secondary analysis controlled for additional RCT characteristics such as study phase, sample size, country of first authors, specialty, trial registration, study design, type of analysis, comparator, and outcome measure. These characteristics did not appreciably affect the relation between financial ties and study outcomes (odds ratio 3.37, 1

4D ultrasound and 3D MRI registration of beating heart

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Herlambang, N.; Matsumiya, K.; Masamune, K.; Dohi, T.; Liao, H.; Tsukihara, H.; Takamoto, S.

2007-01-01

To realize intra-cardiac surgery without cardio-pulmonary bypass, a medical imaging technique with both high image quality and data acquisition rate that is fast enough to follow heart beat movements is required. In this research, we proposed a method that utilized the image quality of MRI and the speed of ultrasound. We developed a 4D image reconstruction method using image registration of 3D MRI and 4D ultrasound images. The registration method consists of rigid registration between 3D MRI and 3D ultrasound with the same heart beat phase, and non-rigid registration between 3D ultrasound images from different heart beat phases. Non-rigid registration was performed with B-spline based registration using variable spring model. In phantom experiment using balloon phantom, registration accuracy was less than 2 mm for total heart volume variation range of 10%. We applied our registration method on 3D MRI and 4D ultrasound images of a volunteer's beating heart data and confirmed through visual observation that heart beat pattern was well reproduced. (orig.)

Robust linear registration of CT images using random regression forests

Science.gov (United States)

Konukoglu, Ender; Criminisi, Antonio; Pathak, Sayan; Robertson, Duncan; White, Steve; Haynor, David; Siddiqui, Khan

2011-03-01

Global linear registration is a necessary first step for many different tasks in medical image analysis. Comparing longitudinal studies1, cross-modality fusion2, and many other applications depend heavily on the success of the automatic registration. The robustness and efficiency of this step is crucial as it affects all subsequent operations. Most common techniques cast the linear registration problem as the minimization of a global energy function based on the image intensities. Although these algorithms have proved useful, their robustness in fully automated scenarios is still an open question. In fact, the optimization step often gets caught in local minima yielding unsatisfactory results. Recent algorithms constrain the space of registration parameters by exploiting implicit or explicit organ segmentations, thus increasing robustness4,5. In this work we propose a novel robust algorithm for automatic global linear image registration. Our method uses random regression forests to estimate posterior probability distributions for the locations of anatomical structures - represented as axis aligned bounding boxes6. These posterior distributions are later integrated in a global linear registration algorithm. The biggest advantage of our algorithm is that it does not require pre-defined segmentations or regions. Yet it yields robust registration results. We compare the robustness of our algorithm with that of the state of the art Elastix toolbox7. Validation is performed via 1464 pair-wise registrations in a database of very diverse 3D CT images. We show that our method decreases the "failure" rate of the global linear registration from 12.5% (Elastix) to only 1.9%.

India’s strategic interests in South Asia and its aid to Bangladesh

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anastasiya Alexandrovna Nemova

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Providing foreign aid to developing countries is one of the most important aspects of contemporary foreign politics. The article studies relations between India and Bangladesh from the perspective of foreign aid flows and discovers conditions, forms, mechanisms, and trends of India’s aid to Bangladesh from 1971 until today. The research uses the approach of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD towards foreign aid and understands it as financial assistance, technical assistance, as well as aid in goods in the form of grants and soft loans with the aim to provide economic development and well-being. The author analyzes factors of the geopolitical significance of Bangladesh for India and studies India’s aid to Bangladesh in the context of the history of bilateral relations between the two countries. As a result, a certain correlation is discovered between aid flows and the state of bilateral relations. China’s growing interest is seen as one of additional factors, which cause India to increase volumes of its aid to the neighboring countries, including Bangladesh. China and India are understood as emerging donors who are competing to increase their influence in the world. The two Asian giants have recently taken considerable aid commitments to Bangladesh which indicates that Bangladesh starts to play a more important role in the regional geopolitics. In this context, the article predicts a further growth in the volumes of Indian aid to Bangladesh in the future and concludes that India uses its foreign aid programs as a tool to promote its own economic, political, and strategic interests. Foreign aid, including official development assistance (ODA, is becoming a means of India’s economic diplomacy although some researchers point to the fact that the country’s policymakers still lack coordination to make aid efficient in terms of political gains.

[Multimodal medical image registration using cubic spline interpolation method].

Science.gov (United States)

He, Yuanlie; Tian, Lianfang; Chen, Ping; Wang, Lifei; Ye, Guangchun; Mao, Zongyuan

2007-12-01

Based on the characteristic of the PET-CT multimodal image series, a novel image registration and fusion method is proposed, in which the cubic spline interpolation method is applied to realize the interpolation of PET-CT image series, then registration is carried out by using mutual information algorithm and finally the improved principal component analysis method is used for the fusion of PET-CT multimodal images to enhance the visual effect of PET image, thus satisfied registration and fusion results are obtained. The cubic spline interpolation method is used for reconstruction to restore the missed information between image slices, which can compensate for the shortage of previous registration methods, improve the accuracy of the registration, and make the fused multimodal images more similar to the real image. Finally, the cubic spline interpolation method has been successfully applied in developing 3D-CRT (3D Conformal Radiation Therapy) system.

Performance evaluation of grid-enabled registration algorithms using bronze-standards

CERN Document Server

Glatard, T; Montagnat, J

2006-01-01

Evaluating registration algorithms is difficult due to the lack of gold standard in most clinical procedures. The bronze standard is a real-data based statistical method providing an alternative registration reference through a computationally intensive image database registration procedure. We propose in this paper an efficient implementation of this method through a grid-interfaced workflow enactor enabling the concurrent processing of hundreds of image registrations in a couple of hours only. The performances of two different grid infrastructures were compared. We computed the accuracy of 4 different rigid registration algorithms on longitudinal MRI images of brain tumors. Results showed an average subvoxel accuracy of 0.4 mm and 0.15 degrees in rotation.

Consistency of parametric registration in serial MRI studies of brain tumor progression

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mang, Andreas; Buzug, Thorsten M.; Schnabel, Julia A.; Crum, William R.; Modat, Marc; Ourselin, Sebastien; Hawkes, David J.; Camara-Rey, Oscar; Palm, Christoph; Caseiras, Gisele Brasil; Jaeger, H.R.

2008-01-01

The consistency of parametric registration in multi-temporal magnetic resonance (MR) imaging studies was evaluated. Serial MRI scans of adult patients with a brain tumor (glioma) were aligned by parametric registration. The performance of low-order spatial alignment (6/9/12 degrees of freedom) of different 3D serial MR-weighted images is evaluated. A registration protocol for the alignment of all images to one reference coordinate system at baseline is presented. Registration results were evaluated for both, multimodal intra-timepoint and mono-modal multi-temporal registration. The latter case might present a challenge to automatic intensity-based registration algorithms due to ill-defined correspondences. The performance of our algorithm was assessed by testing the inverse registration consistency. Four different similarity measures were evaluated to assess consistency. Careful visual inspection suggests that images are well aligned, but their consistency may be imperfect. Sub-voxel inconsistency within the brain was found for allsimilarity measures used for parametric multi-temporal registration. T1-weighted images were most reliable for establishing spatial correspondence between different timepoints. The parametric registration algorithm is feasible for use in this application. The sub-voxel resolution mean displacement error of registration transformations demonstrates that the algorithm converges to an almost identical solution for forward and reverse registration. (orig.)

Accelerating Neuroimage Registration through Parallel Computation of Similarity Metric.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yun-Gang Luo

Full Text Available Neuroimage registration is crucial for brain morphometric analysis and treatment efficacy evaluation. However, existing advanced registration algorithms such as FLIRT and ANTs are not efficient enough for clinical use. In this paper, a GPU implementation of FLIRT with the correlation ratio (CR as the similarity metric and a GPU accelerated correlation coefficient (CC calculation for the symmetric diffeomorphic registration of ANTs have been developed. The comparison with their corresponding original tools shows that our accelerated algorithms can greatly outperform the original algorithm in terms of computational efficiency. This paper demonstrates the great potential of applying these registration tools in clinical applications.

75 FR 52737 - Pesticide Product Registrations; Unconditional and Conditional Approvals

Science.gov (United States)

2010-08-27

...: Plasma Neem Oil Biological insecticide, EPA Registration Number 84185-4 for use on several food and non...) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), of registrations for pesticide... the end of the relevant registration approval summary using the instructions provided under FOR...

Evaluation of whole-body MR to CT deformable image registration

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Akbarzadeh, A.; Gutierrez, D.; Baskin, A.; Ay, M. R.; Ahmadian, A.; Alam, N. Riahi; Loevblad, K. O.; Zaidi, H.

2013-01-01

Multimodality image registration plays a crucial role in various clinical and research applications. The aim of this study is to present an optimized MR to CT whole-body deformable image registration algorithm and its validation using clinical studies. A 3D intermodality registration technique based

Expert Talks: Understanding civil registration and vital statistics ...

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

2017-09-13

Sep 13, 2017 ... What are CRVS systems and why do they matter? ... Cambodia cleared civil registration backlogs by providing free, time-bound registration. ... IDRC supports results-based research that has real impacts on the ground and ...

Serial volumetric registration of pulmonary CT studies

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, José Silvestre; Silva, Augusto; Sousa Santos, Beatriz

2008-03-01

Detailed morphological analysis of pulmonary structures and tissue, provided by modern CT scanners, is of utmost importance as in the case of oncological applications both for diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up. In this case, a patient may go through several tomographic studies throughout a period of time originating volumetric sets of image data that must be appropriately registered in order to track suspicious radiological findings. The structures or regions of interest may change their position or shape in CT exams acquired at different moments, due to postural, physiologic or pathologic changes, so, the exams should be registered before any follow-up information can be extracted. Postural mismatching throughout time is practically impossible to avoid being particularly evident when imaging is performed at the limiting spatial resolution. In this paper, we propose a method for intra-patient registration of pulmonary CT studies, to assist in the management of the oncological pathology. Our method takes advantage of prior segmentation work. In the first step, the pulmonary segmentation is performed where trachea and main bronchi are identified. Then, the registration method proceeds with a longitudinal alignment based on morphological features of the lungs, such as the position of the carina, the pulmonary areas, the centers of mass and the pulmonary trans-axial principal axis. The final step corresponds to the trans-axial registration of the corresponding pulmonary masked regions. This is accomplished by a pairwise sectional registration process driven by an iterative search of the affine transformation parameters leading to optimal similarity metrics. Results with several cases of intra-patient, intra-modality registration, up to 7 time points, show that this method provides accurate registration which is needed for quantitative tracking of lesions and the development of image fusion strategies that may effectively assist the follow-up process.

Quality of Financial Policies and Financial System Stress

OpenAIRE

Udaibir S Das; Plamen Yossifov; Richard Podpiera; Dmitriy L Rozhkov

2005-01-01

In this paper, we develop multi-country indices of financial system stress and quality of financial policies and use them in regression analysis of the determinants of financial stress. We find that countries with higher quality of financial policies are better able to contain the effects of macroeconomic pressures on the overall level of stress in the financial system. They are also in a better position to ensure sustainable development of the financial system.

Why Financial Advice Cannot Substitute for Financial Literacy?

OpenAIRE

M. Debbich

2015-01-01

This paper examines the ability of financial advice provided by sellers of financial services to substitute for financial literacy of customers. I set up a simple theoretical model in which an informed financial advisor communicates with a less informed customer of financial services. Given the existence of a conflict of interest from the advisor's perspective, the model predicts that only well financially sophisticated customers receive relevant information from the advisor. This fact tends ...

SU-C-18A-05: Registration Accuracy of MR-Based Images to On-Board Megavoltage Cone-Beam CT for Brain Patient Setup

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pinnaduwage, D S; Chen, J; Descovich, M; Pouliot, J; Hwang, Ken-Ping

2014-01-01

Purpose: To quantify the difference in isocenter shifts when co-registering MR and MR-based pseudo CTs (pCT) with on-board megavoltage conebeam CT (CBCT) images. Methods: Fast Spoiled Gradient Echo MRs were used to generate pCTs (research version of Advantage Sim MD™, GE Healthcare) for ten patients who had prior brain radiotherapy. The planning CT (rCT) for each was co-registered with the MR, and the plan isocenter and two other reference points were transferred to the MR and pCT. CBCT images (with the machine isocenter) from a single treatment day were coregistered with the 3 test images (MR, pCT and rCT), by two observers and by an automated registration algorithm. The reference points were used to calculate patient shifts and rotations from the registrations. The shifts calculated from the test image registrations were compared to each other and to the shifts performed by the therapists who treated the patients on that day. Results: The average difference in absolute value between the isocenter shifts from the MR-, pCT- and rCT-CBCT registrations, and the therapist shifts, were 2.02, 3.01 and 0.89 mm (craniocaudal), 1.14, 1.34 and 0.46 mm (lateral), and 1.37, 3.43 and 1.43 mm (vertical), respectively. The MR- and pCT-CBCT registrations differed by 1.99, and 2.53 mm (craniocaudal), 1.36, and 1.37 mm (lateral), and 0.74 and 2.34 mm (vertical), respectively, from the average rCT-CBCT shifts. On average, differences of 2.39 (craniocaudal), 1.28 (lateral) and 2.84 mm (vertical) were seen between the MR and pCT shifts. Rotations relative to the CBCT coordinate system were on average <2° for the MR and rCT, and <6° for the pCT. Conclusion: In this study, FSPGR MR-CBCT registrations were more precise compared to the pCT-CBCT registrations. For improved accuracy, MR sequences that are optimal for bony anatomy visualization are necessary. GE healthcare has provided a research version of Advantage Sim MD to UCSF. No financial support was provided

Groupwise registration of MR brain images with tumors

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Zhenyu; Wu, Yihong; Fan, Yong

2017-09-01

A novel groupwise image registration framework is developed for registering MR brain images with tumors. Our method iteratively estimates a normal-appearance counterpart for each tumor image to be registered and constructs a directed graph (digraph) of normal-appearance images to guide the groupwise image registration. Particularly, our method maps each tumor image to its normal appearance counterpart by identifying and inpainting brain tumor regions with intensity information estimated using a low-rank plus sparse matrix decomposition based image representation technique. The estimated normal-appearance images are groupwisely registered to a group center image guided by a digraph of images so that the total length of ‘image registration paths’ to be the minimum, and then the original tumor images are warped to the group center image using the resulting deformation fields. We have evaluated our method based on both simulated and real MR brain tumor images. The registration results were evaluated with overlap measures of corresponding brain regions and average entropy of image intensity information, and Wilcoxon signed rank tests were adopted to compare different methods with respect to their regional overlap measures. Compared with a groupwise image registration method that is applied to normal-appearance images estimated using the traditional low-rank plus sparse matrix decomposition based image inpainting, our method achieved higher image registration accuracy with statistical significance (p  =  7.02  ×  10-9).

The Financial and Economic Crisis and Developing Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruno Gurtner

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Developing countries were hit hard by the financial and economic crisis, although the impact was somewhat delayed. Every country had different challenges to master. The closer the developing countries are interconnected with the world economy, the crasser the effects. And the incipient recovery that is becoming noticeable is, for the time being, restricted to only a few countries and regions.The crisis was transmitted primarily by trade and financial flows forcing millions back into poverty. Attainment of the Millennium Development Goals is seriously jeopardised in many countries. Many developing countries did not and do not have the resources to stimulate the economy and protect their socially disadvantaged populations to the same extent as the industrialised countries. However, many countries have made considerable efforts to mitigate the effects. Developing countries have also increased their cooperation with one another and are urgently demanding a greater voice in global economic affairs.The industrialised countries are for the most part more concerned with their own problems. Their readiness to provide more extensive aid is limited. They are under pressure from the international institutions to relax their previous dominance in favour of the increasingly strong emerging countries. A shift in power and influence that was already noticeable before the financial crisis is deepening.

Aiding Lay Decision Making Using a Cognitive Competencies Approach

OpenAIRE

Maule, A. J.; Maule, Simon

2016-01-01

Two prescriptive approaches have evolved to aid human decision making: just in time interventions that provide support as a decision is being made; and just in case interventions that educate people about future events that they may encounter so that they are better prepared to make an informed decision when these events occur. We review research on these two approaches developed in the context of supporting everyday decisions such as choosing an apartment, a financial product or a medical pr...

Fast free-form deformable registration via calculus of variations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu Weiguo; Chen Mingli; Olivera, Gustavo H; Ruchala, Kenneth J; Mackie, Thomas R

2004-01-01

In this paper, we present a fully automatic, fast and accurate deformable registration technique. This technique deals with free-form deformation. It minimizes an energy functional that combines both similarity and smoothness measures. By using calculus of variations, the minimization problem was represented as a set of nonlinear elliptic partial differential equations (PDEs). A Gauss-Seidel finite difference scheme is used to iteratively solve the PDE. The registration is refined by a multi-resolution approach. The whole process is fully automatic. It takes less than 3 min to register two three-dimensional (3D) image sets of size 256 x 256 x 61 using a single 933 MHz personal computer. Extensive experiments are presented. These experiments include simulations, phantom studies and clinical image studies. Experimental results show that our model and algorithm are suited for registration of temporal images of a deformable body. The registration of inspiration and expiration phases of the lung images shows that the method is able to deal with large deformations. When applied to the daily CT images of a prostate patient, the results show that registration based on iterative refinement of displacement field is appropriate to describe the local deformations in the prostate and the rectum. Similarity measures improved significantly after the registration. The target application of this paper is for radiotherapy treatment planning and evaluation that incorporates internal organ deformation throughout the course of radiation therapy. The registration method could also be equally applied in diagnostic radiology

A Four-State Comparison of Expenditures and Income Sources of Financial Aid Recipients in Public Colleges and Universities.

Science.gov (United States)

Stampen, Jacob O.; Fenske, Robert H.

The way public college students finance college was studied, based on student resource and expenditure surveys from four states: Arizona, California, New York, and Wisconsin. Comparisons were made of demographic and academic variables, as well as expenditure patterns of students receiving different kinds of aid. The following four aid recipient…

Feasibility of Multimodal Deformable Registration for Head and Neck Tumor Treatment Planning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fortunati, Valerio, E-mail: v.fortunati@erasmusmc.nl [Biomedical Imaging Group Rotterdam, Department of Medical Informatics and Radiology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Verhaart, René F. [Hyperthermia Unit, Department of Radiation Oncology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Cancer Institute, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Angeloni, Francesco [Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Foundation SDN for Research and High Education in Nuclear Diagnostics, Naples (Italy); Lugt, Aad van der [Department of Radiology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Niessen, Wiro J. [Biomedical Imaging Group Rotterdam, Department of Medical Informatics and Radiology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Faculty of Applied Sciences, Delft University of Technology, Delft (Netherlands); Veenland, Jifke F. [Biomedical Imaging Group Rotterdam, Department of Medical Informatics and Radiology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Paulides, Margarethus M. [Hyperthermia Unit, Department of Radiation Oncology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center Cancer Institute, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Walsum, Theo van [Biomedical Imaging Group Rotterdam, Department of Medical Informatics and Radiology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam (Netherlands)

2014-09-01

Purpose: To investigate the feasibility of using deformable registration in clinical practice to fuse MR and CT images of the head and neck for treatment planning. Method and Materials: A state-of-the-art deformable registration algorithm was optimized, evaluated, and compared with rigid registration. The evaluation was based on manually annotated anatomic landmarks and regions of interest in both modalities. We also developed a multiparametric registration approach, which simultaneously aligns T1- and T2-weighted MR sequences to CT. This was evaluated and compared with single-parametric approaches. Results: Our results show that deformable registration yielded a better accuracy than rigid registration, without introducing unrealistic deformations. For deformable registration, an average landmark alignment of approximatively 1.7 mm was obtained. For all the regions of interest excluding the cerebellum and the parotids, deformable registration provided a median modified Hausdorff distance of approximatively 1 mm. Similar accuracies were obtained for the single-parameter and multiparameter approaches. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that deformable registration of head-and-neck CT and MR images is feasible, with overall a significanlty higher accuracy than for rigid registration.

Feasibility of Multimodal Deformable Registration for Head and Neck Tumor Treatment Planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fortunati, Valerio; Verhaart, René F.; Angeloni, Francesco; Lugt, Aad van der; Niessen, Wiro J.; Veenland, Jifke F.; Paulides, Margarethus M.; Walsum, Theo van

2014-01-01

Purpose: To investigate the feasibility of using deformable registration in clinical practice to fuse MR and CT images of the head and neck for treatment planning. Method and Materials: A state-of-the-art deformable registration algorithm was optimized, evaluated, and compared with rigid registration. The evaluation was based on manually annotated anatomic landmarks and regions of interest in both modalities. We also developed a multiparametric registration approach, which simultaneously aligns T1- and T2-weighted MR sequences to CT. This was evaluated and compared with single-parametric approaches. Results: Our results show that deformable registration yielded a better accuracy than rigid registration, without introducing unrealistic deformations. For deformable registration, an average landmark alignment of approximatively 1.7 mm was obtained. For all the regions of interest excluding the cerebellum and the parotids, deformable registration provided a median modified Hausdorff distance of approximatively 1 mm. Similar accuracies were obtained for the single-parameter and multiparameter approaches. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that deformable registration of head-and-neck CT and MR images is feasible, with overall a significanlty higher accuracy than for rigid registration

Financial System of Malaysia: the Concept of Financial Dispute

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Evgenia E. Frolova

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose: the article examines the main problems associated the new regulatory acts of Malaysia – the Financial Services Act of 2013 and the Islamic Financial Services Act of 2013; The characteristics of the legal status of the "Ombudsman for financial services" are listed, types of financial disputes subject to settlement under the "financial ombudsman scheme" are listed, parties to the financial dispute are identified. To achieve this goal, the article must solve the following tasks: to determine whether there are institutions in Malaysia that provide services for resolving financial disputes; to investigate the main problems associated with the definition of the concept and types of financial dispute, the conditions for the transfer of a financial dispute to the competent authority. Methods: this article is based on an interdisciplinary concept of research, which allowed to distinguish the distinctive features of the legal regulation of the settlement of financial disputes in Malaysia. Results: according to the provisions of the new laws of Malaysia, namely the Financial Services Act of 2013 and the Islamic Financial Services Act of 2013, a financial dispute should be understood as a dispute, to which the parties are a financial consumer and a financial service provider provider. Financial disputes include disputes in the field of insurance and Islamic insurance, as well as disputes over bank cards, bank accounts, ATMs, Internet banking, mobile banking, and others. The main body for the settlement of financial disputes is the Financial Ombudsman. The competence of the financial ombudsman is limited by the amount of the claim of 250,000 ringgit (about 4.5 million rubles, under insurance claims – 10,000 ringgit, in the field of unauthorized transactions – 25,000 ringgit. The procedure for resolving a financial dispute, which in Malaysia is referred to as the "scheme of a financial ombudsman", is established by the Central Bank of Malaysia

System for Earth Sample Registration SESAR: Services for IGSN Registration and Sample Metadata Management

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, S.; Lehnert, K. A.; Coleman, R. J.

2011-12-01

SESAR, the System for Earth Sample Registration, is an online registry for physical samples collected for Earth and environmental studies. SESAR generates and administers the International Geo Sample Number IGSN, a unique identifier for samples that is dramatically advancing interoperability amongst information systems for sample-based data. SESAR was developed to provide the complete range of registry services, including definition of IGSN syntax and metadata profiles, registration and validation of name spaces requested by users, tools for users to submit and manage sample metadata, validation of submitted metadata, generation and validation of the unique identifiers, archiving of sample metadata, and public or private access to the sample metadata catalog. With the development of SESAR v3, we placed particular emphasis on creating enhanced tools that make metadata submission easier and more efficient for users, and that provide superior functionality for users to manage metadata of their samples in their private workspace MySESAR. For example, SESAR v3 includes a module where users can generate custom spreadsheet templates to enter metadata for their samples, then upload these templates online for sample registration. Once the content of the template is uploaded, it is displayed online in an editable grid format. Validation rules are executed in real-time on the grid data to ensure data integrity. Other new features of SESAR v3 include the capability to transfer ownership of samples to other SESAR users, the ability to upload and store images and other files in a sample metadata profile, and the tracking of changes to sample metadata profiles. In the next version of SESAR (v3.5), we will further improve the discovery, sharing, registration of samples. For example, we are developing a more comprehensive suite of web services that will allow discovery and registration access to SESAR from external systems. Both batch and individual registrations will be possible

How do student nurses learn to care? An analysis of pre-registration adult nursing practice assessment documents.

Science.gov (United States)

Young, Kate; Godbold, Rosemary; Wood, Pat

2018-01-01

There is international concern about the quality of nursing in resource constrained, high technology health care settings. This paper reports findings from a research study which explored the experiences and views of those involved in the education and learning of 'caring' with adult pre-registration students. A novel dataset of 39 practice assessment documents (PADs) were randomly sampled and analysed across both bachelors and masters programmes from September 2014-July 2015. Using an appreciative enquiry approach, the Caring Behaviours Inventory aided analysis of qualitative text from both mentors and students within the PADs to identify how student nurses learn to care and to establish whether there were any differences between Masters and Bachelors students. In contrast with existing research, we found a holistic, melded approach to caring. This combined softer skills with highly technologized care, and flexible, tailored approaches to optimise individualised care delivery. Both of these were highly valued by both students and mentors. Pre-registration MSc students tended to have higher perceptual skills and be more analytical than their BSc counterparts. We found no evidence to suggest that caring behaviour or attitudes diminish over the course of either programme. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Promises and challenges of faith-based AIDS care and support in Mozambique.

Science.gov (United States)

Agadjanian, Victor; Sen, Soma

2007-02-01

We sought to examine the role of religious organizations in the provision of HIV/AIDS-related assistance in Africa. We used data collected from Christian religious organizations in southern Mozambique. Bivariate comparisons and logistic regression analysis of survey data were performed. We conducted an analysis of the qualitative data to complement the quantitative results. Our analysis revealed little involvement of religious organizations in provision of assistance. Most assistance was decentralized and consisted of psychological support and some personal care and household help. Material or financial help was rare. Assistance to nonmembers of congregations was reported more often than to members. Members of larger and better-secularly connected congregations were more likely to report assistance than were members of smaller and less-secularly engaged ones. Assistance was reported more in cities than in rural areas. Women were more likely than men to report providing assistance to congregation members, and the reverse was true for assistance provided to nonmembers. The cooperation of religious organizations in provision of assistance was hindered by financial constraints and institutional rivalry. Policy efforts to involve religious organizations in provision of HIV/AIDS-related assistance should take into account that organization's resources, institutional goals, and social characteristics.

Financial Investing Made for Women: The Economic and Psychological Reasons Why Women Invest Differently Than Men

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carolina M. Reece

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Financial Investing is becoming not only a way to plan for a future source of retirement, but also a method to control a personal financial situation without having to rely on government aid or family member support to survive during the elderly years. Today, individuals cannot depend on social security being available in the future for financial support. It is especially vital for women to become more interested in making long-term investments that will provide a secure and effective approach to money management and financial planning. However, as various studies have concluded, women are less interested than men in managing their finances due to various economic and psychological reasons related to risk aversion, sociopolitical and biological factors, and income. This study reviews previous research findings related to the relationship between women and investments, as well as several economic and psychological reasons behind the gender gap on financial investing are presented. Surveys were used to identify the main reasons for women’s tendency to rely less on financial investments. It was found that women who had some source of financial investment showed confidence in the stock market, as well as in their financial decisions. These results contradict some of the findings shown in previous research.

Registration of 3D Face Scans with Average Face Models

NARCIS (Netherlands)

A.A. Salah (Albert Ali); N. Alyuz; L. Akarun

2008-01-01

htmlabstractThe accuracy of a 3D face recognition system depends on a correct registration that aligns the facial surfaces and makes a comparison possible. The best results obtained so far use a costly one-to-all registration approach, which requires the registration of each facial surface to all

External Financial Aid to Blood Transfusion Services in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Need for Reflection

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ala, Fereydoun; Allain, Jean-Pierre; Bates, Imelda; Boukef, Kamel; Boulton, Frank; Brandful, James; Dax, Elizabeth M.; El Ekiaby, Magdy; Farrugia, Albert; Gorlin, Jed; Hassall, Oliver; Lee, Helen; Loua, André; Maitland, Kathryn; Mbanya, Dora; Mukhtar, Zainab; Murphy, William; Opare-Sem, Ohene; Owusu-Ofori, Shirley; Reesink, Henk; Roberts, David; Torres, Oscar; Totoe, Grace; Ullum, Henrik; Wendel, Silvano

2012-01-01

Jean-Pierre Allain and colleagues argue that, while unintended, the foreign aid provided for blood transfusion services in sub-Saharan Africa has resulted in serious negative outcomes, which requires reflection and rethinking

External Financial Aid to Blood Transfusion Services in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Need for Reflection

OpenAIRE

Ala, Fereydoun; Allain, Jean-Pierre; Bates, Imelda; Boukef, Kamel; Boulton, Frank; Brandful, James; Dax, Elizabeth M.; El Ekiaby, Magdy; Farrugia, Albert; Gorlin, Jed; Hassall, Oliver; Lee, Helen; Loua, André; Maitland, Kathryn; Mbanya, Dora

2012-01-01

Jean-Pierre Allain and colleagues argue that, while unintended, the foreign aid provided for blood transfusion services in sub-Saharan Africa has resulted in serious negative outcomes, which requires reflection and rethinking.

The Usefulness of Financial Statements in Making Financial Diagnosis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mitica Pepi

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Our research aims to develop an analysis of the usefulness of financial statements and financial investment in making the diagnosis. Financial analysis is by definition an activity that performance condition is diagnosed entity of the financial year. Financial analysis shall be determined by strengths and weaknesses of financial management based on which will underpin future strategy of the entity to maintain and develop it into a competitive environment. Results of financial analysis depends on the quality, accuracy, relevance and effectiveness of economic information collected and processed. The primary sources of information for financial analysis are the financial statements, which are considered as raw material in the analysis.

Pydpiper: A Flexible Toolkit for Constructing Novel Registration Pipelines