WorldWideScience

Sample records for serviceability limit states

  1. Investigation of reinforced concrete beams in serviceability limit state

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Annette Beedholm; Hagsten, Lars German

    2016-01-01

    This paper investigates how cracking influence the stiffness of flexural members. Stress levels and crack development under service loads are highly dependent on the reinforcement arrangement, which is often based on the ultimate limit state design. Furthermore, practical design of the serviceabi......This paper investigates how cracking influence the stiffness of flexural members. Stress levels and crack development under service loads are highly dependent on the reinforcement arrangement, which is often based on the ultimate limit state design. Furthermore, practical design...... of the serviceability limit state is often based on empirical and conservative estimates where the influence of certain dominating mechanisms is ignored, such as tension-stiffening. The reinforcement arrangement is, therefore, frequently modified, involving an increase in the amount of reinforcement, to meet...

  2. Fuzzy stochastic analysis of serviceability and ultimate limit states of two-span pedestrian steel bridge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kala, Zdeněk; Sandovič, GiedrÄ--

    2012-09-01

    The paper deals with non-linear analysis of ultimate and serviceability limit states of two-span pedestrian steel bridge. The effects of random material and geometrical characteristics on limit states are analyzed. The Monte Carlo method was applied to stochastic analysis. For the serviceability limit state, also influence of fuzzy uncertainty of the limit deflection value on random characteristics of load capacity of variable action was studied. The results prove that, for the type of structure studied, the serviceability limit state is decisive from the point of view of design. The present paper opens a discussion on the use of stochastic analysis to verify the limit deflections given in the standards EUROCODES.

  3. Reliability of buildings in service limit state for maximum horizontal displacements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. G. B. Corelhano

    Full Text Available Brazilian design code ABNT NBR6118:2003 - Design of Concrete Structures - Procedures - [1] proposes the use of simplified models for the consideration of non-linear material behavior in the evaluation of horizontal displacements in buildings. These models penalize stiffness of columns and beams, representing the effects of concrete cracking and avoiding costly physical non-linear analyses. The objectives of the present paper are to investigate the accuracy and uncertainty of these simplified models, as well as to evaluate the reliabilities of structures designed following ABNT NBR6118:2003[1&] in the service limit state for horizontal displacements. Model error statistics are obtained from 42 representative plane frames. The reliabilities of three typical (4, 8 and 12 floor buildings are evaluated, using the simplified models and a rigorous, physical and geometrical non-linear analysis. Results show that the 70/70 (column/beam stiffness reduction model is more accurate and less conservative than the 80/40 model. Results also show that ABNT NBR6118:2003 [1] design criteria for horizontal displacement limit states (masonry damage according to ACI 435.3R-68(1984 [10] are conservative, and result in reliability indexes which are larger than those recommended in EUROCODE [2] for irreversible service limit states.

  4. Fatigue and Serviceability Limit State Model Basis for Assessment of Offshore Wind Energy Converters

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thöns, Sebastian; Faber, M. H.; Rücker, W.

    2012-01-01

    , a probabilistic model is derived on the basis of literature review and measurement data from a prototype Multibrid M5000 support structure. The sensitivity study is based on the calculation of a nonlinear coefficient of correlation in conjunction with predetermined designs of experiments. This is conducted......This paper develops the models for the structural performance of the loading and probabilistic characterization for the fatigue and the serviceability limit states for the support structure of offshore wind energy converters. These models and a sensitivity study are part of a risk based assessment...... as the starting point for the development of the structural performance and loading models. With these models introduced in detail, several modeling aspects for both limit states are analyzed. This includes analyses of the influence on the hot spot stresses by applying a contact formulation for the pile guide...

  5. Serviceability limit state related to excessive lateral deformations to account for infill walls in the structural model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. M. S. ALVA

    Full Text Available Brazilian Codes NBR 6118 and NBR 15575 provide practical values for interstory drift limits applied to conventional modeling in order to prevent negative effects in masonry infill walls caused by excessive lateral deformability, however these codes do not account for infill walls in the structural model. The inclusion of infill walls in the proposed model allows for a quantitative evaluation of structural stresses in these walls and an assessment of cracking in these elements (sliding shear diagonal tension and diagonal compression cracking. This paper presents the results of simulations of single-story one-bay infilled R/C frames. The main objective is to show how to check the serviceability limit states under lateral loads when the infill walls are included in the modeling. The results of numerical simulations allowed for an evaluation of stresses and the probable cracking pattern in infill walls. The results also allowed an identification of some advantages and limitations of the NBR 6118 practical procedure based on interstory drift limits.

  6. Investigation of Concrete Structures in Serviceability Limit State Using Energy Principles

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hagsten, Lars German; Fisker, Jakob

    2013-01-01

    of the choices, made in relation to the design of the structure with respect to the ultimate limit state (ULS). Hence, a rational link between the two states is established. The approach is appropriate for the design of new structures and assessment of existing structures. The method and the link between...... the choices made regarding the ULS and the state of stress in the SLS is compared with tests on reinforced concrete disks and beams, respectively. Fairly good agreement between theory and tests is achieved....

  7. Restructuring local distribution services: Possibilities and limitations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Duann, D.J.

    1994-08-01

    The restructuring of local distribution services is now the focus of the natural gas industry. It is the last major step in the ``reconstitution`` of the natural gas industry and a critical clement in realizing the full benefits of regulatory and market reforms that already have taken place in the wellhead and interstate markets. It could also be the most important regulatory initiative for most end-use customers because they are affected directly by the costs and reliability of distribution services. Several factors contribute to the current emphasis on distribution service restructuring. They include the unbundling and restructuring of upstream markets, a realization of the limitations of supply-side options (such as gas procurement oversight), and the increased diversity and volatility of gas demand facing local distribution companies. Local distribution service is not one but a series of activities that start with commodity gas procurement and extend to transportation, load balancing, storage, and metering and billing of services provided. There are also considerable differences in the economies of scale and scope associated with these various activities. Thus, a mixture of supply arrangements (such as a competitive market or a monopoly) is required for the most efficient delivery of local distribution services. A distinction must be made between the supply of commodity gas and the provision of a bundled distribution service. This distinction and identification of the best supply arrangements for various distribution service components are the most critical factors in developing appropriate restructuring policies. For most state public utility commissions the criteria for service restructuring should include pursuing the economies of scale and scope in gas distribution, differentiating and matching gas service reliability and quality with customer requirements, and controlling costs associated with the search, negotiation, and contracting of gas services.

  8. 47 CFR 22.901 - Cellular service requirements and limitations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Cellular service requirements and limitations... SERVICES PUBLIC MOBILE SERVICES Cellular Radiotelephone Service § 22.901 Cellular service requirements and limitations. The licensee of each cellular system is responsible for ensuring that its cellular system...

  9. A two-queue model with alternating limited service and state-dependent setups

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Winands, E.M.M.; Adan, I.J.B.F.; Houtum, van G.J.J.A.N.; Papadopoulos, C.T.

    2005-01-01

    We consider a two-queue model with state-dependent setups, in which a single server alternately serves the two queues. The high-priority queue is served exhaustively, whereas the low-priority queue is served according to the k-limited strategy. We obtain the transforms of the queue length and

  10. 42 CFR 440.255 - Limited services available to certain aliens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Limited services available to certain aliens. 440... Limits Applicable to All Services § 440.255 Limited services available to certain aliens. (a) FFP for services. FFP is available for services provided to aliens described in this section which are necessary to...

  11. Outsourcing in State Service Activity Outsourcing in State Service Activity

    OpenAIRE

    Ivan Kotliarov

    2012-01-01

    The article gives an analysis of the problem of outsourcing in public management of the RF. It clarifies the definition of the term of public services; proposes concepts of public service and public service product; discusses the hypothesis that outsourcing really can help improve the performance of the state structures by attracting external resources.Results: the resource and contact activities are most promising for outsourcing. However, outsourcing of government activities is associated w...

  12. How Medicaid agencies administer mental health services: results from a 50-state survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verdier, James; Barrett, Allison

    2008-10-01

    This brief report describes some notable variations in how state Medicaid agencies administer and fund Medicaid mental health services. Hour-long telephone interviews were conducted with all state and District of Columbia Medicaid directors or their designees. Responses indicated that Medicaid and mental health agencies were located within the same umbrella agency in 28 states, potentially facilitating collaboration. The mental health agency provided funding for some Medicaid mental health services in 32 states, and counties provided such funding in 22 states. Medicaid agencies generally delegated more authority to state mental health agencies in states where some Medicaid funding came from mental health sources and also in states where both agencies were in the same umbrella agency. The increasing role of Medicaid in funding state mental health services, combined with new federal limits on Medicaid financing of these services, underscores the importance of interagency collaboration and better alignment of Medicaid and mental health responsibilities.

  13. Limitations of existing web services

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    First page Back Continue Last page Overview Graphics. Limitations of existing web services. Uploading or downloading large data. Serving too many user from single source. Difficult to provide computer intensive job. Depend on internet and its bandwidth. Security of data in transition. Maintain confidentiality of data ...

  14. State of Services Report

    Data.gov (United States)

    Social Security Administration — A comprehensive monthly report portraying customer experience with our various service options. The State of Services is shared with the ACOSS and is presented to...

  15. Feasibility, Benefits, and Limitations of a Penicillin Allergy Skin Testing Service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Narayanan, Prasanna P; Jeffres, Meghan N

    2017-06-01

    To critically examine the feasibility, benefits, and limitations of an inpatient penicillin skin testing service and how pharmacists can be utilized. A PubMed search was performed from July 2016 through September 2016 using the following search terms: penicillin skin testing, penicillin allergy, β-lactam allergy. Additional references were identified from a review of literature citations. All English-language studies assessing the use of penicillin skin testing as well as management and clinical outcomes of patients with a β-lactam allergy were evaluated. The prevalence of people self-identifying as penicillin allergic ranges from 10% to 20% in the United States. Being improperly labeled as penicillin allergic is associated with higher health care costs, worse clinical outcomes, and an increased prevalence of multidrug-resistant infections. Penicillin skin testing can be a tool used to clarify penicillin allergies and has been demonstrated to be a successful addition to antimicrobial stewardship programs in multiple health care settings. Prior to implementing a penicillin skin testing service, institutions will need to perform a feasibility analysis of who will supply labor and accept the financial burden as well as identify if the positive benefits of a penicillin skin testing service overcome the limitations of this diagnostic test. We conclude that institutions with high percentages of patients receiving non-β-lactams because of penicillin allergy labels would likely benefit the most from a penicillin skin testing service.

  16. Perspectives on Retail Service Quality: Findings From the Baltic States

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brent McKenzie

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Service quality research continues to represent one of the major tenets of Services Marketing, but there continues to be limited research in the field outside of Developed, Western markets.  In order to advance the knowledge of service quality in non-western markets, the focus of this paper is to examine one particular field of service quality research, retail service quality, in the former Soviet Republics of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.The testing of a model of retail service quality, using empirical survey data collected in these three recent members of the European Union, indicate support that the retail service quality construct both aligns and differs, across the three countries.The implication of these similarities and differences are important from two perspectives.  The first is the appropriateness of extending Western developed marketing scales and measures within newly emerging, and catching up states.The second implication, which is important to retail practice, questions the position of treating these three countries, known collectively as the Baltic states as a homogenous market.  Additional implications to retail practice and future academic research studies are also discussed.

  17. 29 CFR 4.112 - Contracts to furnish services “in the United States.”

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... Application of the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act Covered Contracts Generally § 4.112 Contracts to furnish services “in the United States.” (a) The Act and the provisions of this part apply to contract... Act. (b) A service contract to be performed in its entirety outside the geographical limits of the...

  18. Quantum speed limits for Bell-diagonal states

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han Wei; Jiang Ke-Xia; Zhang Ying-Jie; Xia Yun-Jie

    2015-01-01

    The lower bounds of the evolution time between two distinguishable states of a system, defined as quantum speed limit time, can characterize the maximal speed of quantum computers and communication channels. We study the quantum speed limit time between the composite quantum states and their target states in the presence of nondissipative decoherence. For the initial states with maximally mixed marginals, we obtain the exact expressions of the quantum speed limit time which mainly depend on the parameters of the initial states and the decoherence channels. Furthermore, by calculating the quantum speed limit time for the time-dependent states started from a class of initial states, we discover that the quantum speed limit time gradually decreases in time, and the decay rate of the quantum speed limit time would show a sudden change at a certain critical time. Interestingly, at the same critical time, the composite system dynamics would exhibit a sudden transition from classical decoherence to quantum decoherence. (paper)

  19. HIV Testing and HIV/AIDS Treatment Services in Rural Counties in 10 Southern States: Service Provider Perspectives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sutton, Madeline; Anthony, Monique-Nicole; Vila, Christie; McLellan-Lemal, Eleanor; Weidle, Paul J.

    2010-01-01

    Context: Forty percent of AIDS cases are reported in the southern United States, the region with the largest proportion of HIV/AIDS cases from rural areas. Data are limited regarding provider perspectives of the accessibility and availability of HIV testing and treatment services in southern rural counties. Purpose: We surveyed providers in the…

  20. 39 CFR 221.1 - The United States Postal Service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 39 Postal Service 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false The United States Postal Service. 221.1 Section 221.1 Postal Service UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION GENERAL ORGANIZATION § 221.1 The United States Postal Service. The United States Postal Service was established as an...

  1. The outer limits of the welfare state: discrimination, racism and their effect on human services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wershow, H J

    The European social democracies have been more generous than the United States in social provision, including services to aged. The momentum of provision has slowed down in recent years. We suggest that prosperity which has led to use of foreign laborers in menial jobs has caused this slow down. The dynamics are similar to the historical U.S. use of "non-100% Americans" as our menial workers. Changes in social policy strategies are needed: 1) universal provision, rather than programs aimed at minorities, is needed to enlist support of stable working and middle classes; 2) tax reforms, which lower progressive income-tax structures for middle incomes, and value-added tax, may be necessary to overcome anti-tax ideologies; 3) clear priorities as to most necessary services must be established by the gerontological community.

  2. State as a Service : Towards Stateful Cloud Services

    OpenAIRE

    Alnoor, Ahmadullah

    2012-01-01

    Cloud ERP or Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) as a Cloud Service delivers value by reducing initial and long term operating costs since infrastructure, platform and (certain) application management tasks are delegated to a specialist provider. Questions present at intersection of the ERP challenge landscape and the Cloud Computing opportunity horizon include characterization of Cloud friendly ERP modules and adaptation of stateful (on-premises ERP) components to a stateless platform. Contri...

  3. Critical Success Factors for Limited Service Hotels in Malaysia

    OpenAIRE

    Wong, Chee Keng

    2015-01-01

    Critical success factors were used originally in Information technology areas when it was first introduced but has since been applied generically in other industries. This study explores the critical success factors for limited service hotels in Malaysia from both customer and hotel operator/ business owners’ perspective. The literature presents information from tourism in general and in Malaysia, definition of limited service hotels and its relevance to the hospitality industry in Malaysia, ...

  4. Using Video to Support In-Service Teacher Professional Development: The State of the Field, Limitations and Possibilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Major, Louis; Watson, Steven

    2018-01-01

    Video is increasingly used to support in-service teacher professional development (TPD). Advances in affordability and usability of technology mean that interest is set to develop further. Studies in this area are diverse in terms of scale, methodology and context. This places limitations on undertaking a systematic review; therefore the authors…

  5. Functional State Modelling of Cultivation Processes: Dissolved Oxygen Limitation State

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olympia Roeva

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available A new functional state, namely dissolved oxygen limitation state for both bacteria Escherichia coli and yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae fed-batch cultivation processes is presented in this study. Functional state modelling approach is applied to cultivation processes in order to overcome the main disadvantages of using global process model, namely complex model structure and a big number of model parameters. Alongwith the newly introduced dissolved oxygen limitation state, second acetate production state and first acetate production state are recognized during the fed-batch cultivation of E. coli, while mixed oxidative state and first ethanol production state are recognized during the fed-batch cultivation of S. cerevisiae. For all mentioned above functional states both structural and parameter identification is here performed based on experimental data of E. coli and S. cerevisiae fed-batch cultivations.

  6. Tanzania Telecommunication Company Limited as a Mobile Service Provider

    OpenAIRE

    Ndyamukama, Edna

    2014-01-01

    This bachelor’s thesis was researched and written under the consent and authority of Tanzania Telecommunication Company Limited (TTCL), with the purpose to find out ways of improving sales and profits of its mobile service department. The mobile service department of TTCL is performing poorly as compared to its competitors despite being managed by a strategically positioned and experienced company in tele-communication services. It was also meant to find out the positive contribution of compe...

  7. 7 CFR 1212.32 - United States Customs Service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false United States Customs Service. 1212.32 Section 1212... § 1212.32 United States Customs Service. “United States Customs Service” or “Customs” means the United States Customs and Border Protection, an agency of the Department of Homeland Security. Honey Packers and...

  8. Availability of limited service food outlets surrounding schools in British Columbia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Black, Jennifer L; Day, Meghan

    2012-06-05

    The purpose of this study was to provide a descriptive profile of the availability of limited service food outlets surrounding public schools in British Columbia, Canada. Data from the 2010 Canadian Business Data Files were used to identify limited service food outlets including fast food outlets, beverage and snack food stores, delis and convenience stores. The number of food outlets within 800 metres of 1,392 public schools and the distance from schools to the nearest food outlets were assessed. Multivariate regression models examined the associations between food outlet availability and school-level characteristics. In 2010, over half of the public schools in BC (54%) were located within a 10-12 minute walk from at least one limited service food outlet. The median closest distance to a food outlet was just over 1 km (1016 m). Schools comprised of students living in densely populated urban neighbourhoods and neighbourhoods characterized by lower socio-economic status were more likely to have access to limited service food outlets within walking distance. After adjusting for school-level median family income and population density, larger schools had higher odds of exposure to food vendors compared to schools with fewer students. The availability of and proximity to limited service food outlets vary widely across schools in British Columbia and school-level characteristics are significantly associated with food outlet availability. Additional research is needed to understand how food environment exposures inside and surrounding schools impact students' attitudes, food choices and dietary quality.

  9. The increasing efficiency of financial resources management at implementation of goods’ purchase, works, services for the state and municipal needs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Proskurnja Dar'ja Vladimirovna

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available The article is devoted to the review of the existing problems in the field of financial resources management at implementation of goods’ purchase, works, services for the state and municipal needs. Determination of the limit prices of purchases is revealed as the most important problem of the increasing efficiency of financial resources management at implementation of goods’ purchase, works, services for the state and municipal needs. The range of problems of determination of the limit prices of purchases is systematized.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2016-02-01

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

  11. LIMITED RESTAURANT SERVICE: EASTER WEEKEND

    CERN Multimedia

    2003-01-01

    As Friday, April 18 and Monday, April 21, 2003 are CERN holidays, restaurants no. 1 (COOP : Bldg. 501- Meyrin) and no. 3 (AVENANCE : Bldg. 866 - Prévessin) will be closed and will remain so on Saturday and Sunday, April 19 - 20. They will reopen on Tuesday, April 22 at 7h00. During these four days, a limited service will be provided by restaurant no. 2 (DSR : Bldg. 504 - Meyrin) from 8h00 to 21h00 with hot meals served from 11h30 to 14h00 and from 18h00 to 19h30.

  12. Access to and use of infertility services in the United States: framing the challenges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adashi, Eli Y; Dean, Laura A

    2016-05-01

    An overview of access to and use of general infertility and assisted reproductive technology (ART) services in the United States (U.S.) shows a declining trend for the ever-use of infertility services. Moreover, the use of ART services lags relative to other member nations of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Access to and use of general infertility and ART services is primarily undermined by a severely constrained underwriting universe dominated by self-insured employers and by a finite number of state infertility insurance mandates. The contribution of traditional public and private payers to the underwriting of ART is limited. As compared with OECD member nations wherein the access to and underwriting of general infertility and ART services is universal, the current status quo in the U.S. can only be characterized as dismal. Further, the current state of affairs is socially unjust in that the right to build a family in the face of infertility appears to have become a function of economic prowess. Given the dominance of the self-insured employers as underwriters of general infertility and ART services, advocacy directed at this interest group is likely to prove most productive. Improving the state of underwriting of general infertility and ART services in the U.S. must be embraced as a central moral imperative and as an unwavering strategic goal of the professional societies entrusted with the reproductive health of women and men. Copyright © 2016 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Nonadiabatic excited-state molecular dynamics: On-the-fly limiting of essential excited states

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nelson, Tammie [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States); Naumov, Artem [Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow 143026 (Russian Federation); Fernandez-Alberti, Sebastian [Universidad Nacional de Quilmes, Roque Saenz Pea 352, B1876BXD Bernal (Argentina); Tretiak, Sergei, E-mail: serg@lanl.gov [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States)

    2016-12-20

    The simulation of nonadiabatic dynamics in extended molecular systems involving hundreds of atoms and large densities of states is particularly challenging. Nonadiabatic coupling terms (NACTs) represent a significant numerical bottleneck in surface hopping approaches. Rather than using unreliable NACT cutting schemes, here we develop “on-the-fly” state limiting methods to eliminate states that are no longer essential for the non-radiative relaxation dynamics as a trajectory proceeds. We propose a state number criteria and an energy-based state limit. The latter is more physically relevant by requiring a user-imposed energy threshold. For this purpose, we introduce a local kinetic energy gauge by summing contributions from atoms within the spatial localization of the electronic wavefunction to define the energy available for upward hops. The proposed state limiting schemes are implemented within the nonadiabatic excited-state molecular dynamics framework to simulate photoinduced relaxation in poly-phenylene vinylene (PPV) and branched poly-phenylene ethynylene (PPE) oligomers for benchmark evaluation.

  14. State Employee Assistance Programs: Organization and Services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kemp, Donna R.

    1985-01-01

    Describes a study conducted to determine how many state governments had established employee assistance programs (EAPs). Results concerned how state EAPs are organized, services provided, cost of programs, what dollars or productive benefits were calculated, and what problems have been encountered by state EAPs. (CT)

  15. LIMITED RESTAURANT SERVICE : EASTER WEEKEND

    CERN Multimedia

    2003-01-01

    As Friday, April 18 and Monday, April 21, 2003 are CERN holidays, restaurants no. 1 (COOP : Bldg. 501- Meyrin) and no. 3 (AVENANCE : Bldg. 866 - Prévessin) will be closed and will remain so on Saturday and Sunday, April 19 - 20. They will reopen on Tuesday, April 22 at 7h00. During these four days, a limited service will be provided by restaurant no. 2 (DSR : Bldg. 504 - Meyrin) from 8h00 to 21h00 with hot meals served from 11h30 to 14h00 and from 18h00 to 19h30. On Thursday, April 17, all three restaurants will operate according to the usual times except for restaurant no. 1 which will close at 21h00 instead of 1 o'clock in the morning.

  16. 31 CFR Appendix D to Subpart A of... - United States Secret Service

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false United States Secret Service D...—United States Secret Service 1. In general. This appendix applies to the United States Secret Service. 2. Public reading room. The United States Secret Service will provide a room on an ad hoc basis when...

  17. 42 CFR 447.321 - Outpatient hospital and clinic services: Application of upper payment limits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Outpatient hospital and clinic services... SERVICES Payment Methods for Other Institutional and Noninstitutional Services Outpatient Hospital and Clinic Services § 447.321 Outpatient hospital and clinic services: Application of upper payment limits...

  18. LIMITED RESTAURANT SERVICE : EASTER WEEKEND

    CERN Multimedia

    Restaurant Supervisory Committee

    2002-01-01

    As Friday 29 March and Monday 1st April 2002 are CERN holidays, restaurants no. 1 (COOP, bldg. 501- Meyrin) and no. 3 (Avenance, bldg. 866 - Prévessin) will be closed and will remain so on Saturday and Sunday 30-31 March. They will reopen on Tuesday 2 April at 7h00. During these four days, a limited service will be provided by restaurant no. 2 (DSR, bldg. 504 - Meyrin) from 8h00 to 21h00 with hot meals served from 11h30 to 14h00 and from 18h00 to 19h30. On Thursday 28 March, all three restaurants will operate according to the usual times except for restaurant no. 1 which will close at 21h00 instead of 1 o'clock in the morning. Restaurant Supervisory Committee Tel. 77551

  19. LIMITED RESTAURANT SERVICE: EASTER WEEKEND

    CERN Multimedia

    Restaurant Supervisory Committee

    2001-01-01

    As Friday 13 and Monday 16 April 2001 are CERN holidays, restaurants no. 1 (COOP, bldg. 501- Meyrin) and no. 3 (Générale de Restauration, bldg. 866 - Prévessin) will be closed and will remain so on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 April. They will reopen on Tuesday 17 April at 7h00. During these four days, a limited service will be provided by restaurant no. 2 (DSR, bldg. 504 - Meyrin) from 8h00 to 21h00 with hot meals served from 11h30 to 14h00 and from 18h00 to 19h30. On Thursday 12 April, all three restaurants will operate according to the usual times except for restaurant no 1, which will close at 21h00 instead of 1 o'clock in the morning.

  20. LIMITED RESTAURANT SERVICE : EASTER WEEKEND

    CERN Multimedia

    Restaurant Supervisory Committee

    2002-01-01

    As Friday, March 29 and Monday, April 1st, 2002 are CERN holidays, restaurants no. 1 (COOP : Bldg. 501- Meyrin) and no. 3 (Avenance : Bldg. 866 - Prévessin) will be closed and will remain so on Saturday and Sunday, March 30 - 31. They will reopen on Tuesday, April 2 at 7h00. During these four days, a limited service will be provided by restaurant no. 2 (DSR : Bldg. 504 - Meyrin) from 8h00 to 21h00 with hot meals served from 11h30 to 14h00 and from 18h00 to 19h30. On Thursday, March 28, all three restaurants will operate according to the usual times except for restaurant no. 1 which will close at 21h00 instead of 1 o'clock in the morning.   Restaurant Supervisory Committee, tel. 77551

  1. Design of limited-stop service based on the degree of unbalance of passenger demand

    Science.gov (United States)

    2018-01-01

    This paper presents a limited-stop service for a bus fleet to meet the unbalanced demand of passengers on a bus route and to improve the transit service of the bus route. This strategy includes two parts: a degree assessment of unbalanced passenger demand and an optimization of the limited-stop service. The degree assessment of unbalanced passenger demand, which is based on the different passenger demand between stations and the unbalance of passengers within the station, is used to judge whether implementing the limited-stop service is necessary for a bus route. The optimization of limited-stop service considers the influence of stop skipping action and bus capacity on the left-over passengers to determine the proper skipping stations for the bus fleet serving the entire route by minimizing both the waiting time and in-vehicle time of passengers and the running time of vehicles. A solution algorithm based on genetic algorithm is also presented to evaluate the degree of unbalanced passenger demand and optimize the limited-stop scheme. Then, the proper strategy is tested on a bus route in Changchun city of China. The threshold of degree assessment of unbalanced passenger demand can be calibrated and adapted to different passenger demands. PMID:29505585

  2. Design of limited-stop service based on the degree of unbalance of passenger demand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Hu; Zhao, Shuzhi; Liu, Huasheng; Liang, Shidong

    2018-01-01

    This paper presents a limited-stop service for a bus fleet to meet the unbalanced demand of passengers on a bus route and to improve the transit service of the bus route. This strategy includes two parts: a degree assessment of unbalanced passenger demand and an optimization of the limited-stop service. The degree assessment of unbalanced passenger demand, which is based on the different passenger demand between stations and the unbalance of passengers within the station, is used to judge whether implementing the limited-stop service is necessary for a bus route. The optimization of limited-stop service considers the influence of stop skipping action and bus capacity on the left-over passengers to determine the proper skipping stations for the bus fleet serving the entire route by minimizing both the waiting time and in-vehicle time of passengers and the running time of vehicles. A solution algorithm based on genetic algorithm is also presented to evaluate the degree of unbalanced passenger demand and optimize the limited-stop scheme. Then, the proper strategy is tested on a bus route in Changchun city of China. The threshold of degree assessment of unbalanced passenger demand can be calibrated and adapted to different passenger demands.

  3. Access to health services in six Colombian cities: limitations and consequences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julián Vargas J

    2009-08-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To understand the characteristics of access to the General System of Social Security in health (SGSS, from the perspective of doctors, nurses, administrators and users. Methodology: based on the grounded theory we present a study in six cities in Colombia: Barranquilla, Bucaramanga, Bogota, Leticia, Medellín and Pasto, for which interviews were conducted in-depth with health professionals involved in service delivery and focus groups with service users. Results: The findings indicate that insurance has become an end in itself, and being affiliated to SGSSS does not guarantee effective access to services. The dominance of the market, the financial profitability of insurers, imposed cost-containment mechanisms over the right to health. There are limitations from the rules, benefit plans that create geographical, economic and cultural barriers from the various actors involved in the chain of decisions. Additionally, display individual and institutional ethical shortcomings, clientelism and corruption in the management of resources, coupled with poverty and geographical dispersion of communities, mean that further limiting access to health services.

  4. 75 FR 52378 - International Product Change-United States Postal Service Inbound Market-Dominant Multi-Service...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-08-25

    ... POSTAL SERVICE International Product Change--United States Postal Service Inbound Market-Dominant... Inbound Market-Dominant Multi- Service Agreements to the Market-Dominant Products List pursuant to 39 U.S... the Postal Regulatory Commission to Add Market-Dominant Multi-Service Agreements with Foreign Postal...

  5. Direct methods for limit states in structures and materials

    CERN Document Server

    Weichert, Dieter

    2014-01-01

    Knowing the safety factor for limit states such as plastic collapse, low cycle fatigue or ratcheting is always a major design consideration for civil and mechanical engineering structures that are subjected to loads. Direct methods of limit or shakedown analysis that proceed to directly find the limit states offer a better alternative than exact time-stepping calculations as, on one hand, an exact loading history is scarcely known, and on the other they are much less time-consuming. This book presents the state of the art on various topics concerning these methods, such as theoretical advances in limit and shakedown analysis, the development of relevant algorithms and computational procedures, sophisticated modeling of inelastic material behavior like hardening, non-associated flow rules, material damage and fatigue, contact and friction, homogenization and composites.

  6. Hartree-Fock states in the thermodynamic limit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aguilera-Navarro, V.C.; Llano, M. de; Peltier, S.; Plastino, A.

    1976-01-01

    Two infinite families of two-parameter generalized Overhauser orbitals are introduced and shown to explicitly satisfy, for occupied states, the self-consistent Hartree-Fock equations in the thermodynamic limit. For an attractive delta interaction, they give lower Hartree-Fock energy than the usual plane-wave solutions, even for relatively weak coupling and/or low density. The limiting members (possessing an infinite number of harmonics) of both families appear to tend to a 'classical static lattice' state. The related density profiles and energy expressions are calculated as functions of the two new parameters. A direct-variation with respect to these parameters was done numerically and results are presented graphically. (Author) [pt

  7. 42 CFR 410.24 - Limitations on services of a doctor of dental surgery or dental medicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Limitations on services of a doctor of dental surgery or dental medicine. 410.24 Section 410.24 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES... Medical and Other Health Services § 410.24 Limitations on services of a doctor of dental surgery or dental...

  8. Tightening Quantum Speed Limits for Almost All States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campaioli, Francesco; Pollock, Felix A; Binder, Felix C; Modi, Kavan

    2018-02-09

    Conventional quantum speed limits perform poorly for mixed quantum states: They are generally not tight and often significantly underestimate the fastest possible evolution speed. To remedy this, for unitary driving, we derive two quantum speed limits that outperform the traditional bounds for almost all quantum states. Moreover, our bounds are significantly simpler to compute as well as experimentally more accessible. Our bounds have a clear geometric interpretation; they arise from the evaluation of the angle between generalized Bloch vectors.

  9. LIMITED RESTAURANT SERVICE: EASTER WEEK-END

    CERN Multimedia

    2004-01-01

    As Friday April 9 and Monday April 12 2004 are CERN holidays, restaurants no. 1 (Bldg. 501- Meyrin) and no. 3 (Bldg. 866 - Prévessin) will be closed and will remain closed on Saturday and Sunday, April 10 - 11. They will reopen on Tuesday, April 13 at 7 a.m. During these four days, a limited service will be provided by restaurant no. 2 (Bldg. 504 - Meyrin): on Friday and Monday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 8.30 p.m. Hot meals will be served from 11.30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.

  10. Heisenberg-limited interferometry with pair coherent states and parity measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gerry, Christopher C.; Mimih, Jihane

    2010-01-01

    After reviewing parity-measurement-based interferometry with twin Fock states, which allows for supersensitivity (Heisenberg limited) and super-resolution, we consider interferometry with two different superpositions of twin Fock states, namely, two-mode squeezed vacuum states and pair coherent states. This study is motivated by the experimental challenge of producing twin Fock states on opposite sides of a beam splitter. We find that input two-mode squeezed states, while allowing for Heisenberg-limited sensitivity, do not yield super-resolutions, whereas both are possible with input pair coherent states.

  11. 78 FR 13743 - Department of State FY11 Service Contract Inventory

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-28

    ... DEPARTMENT OF STATE [Public Notice 8207] Department of State FY11 Service Contract Inventory... Contract Inventory. SUMMARY: The Department of State has publically released its Service Contract Inventory... Act, Public Law 111-117, requires Department of State, and other civilian agencies, to submit an...

  12. 46 CFR 11.518 - Service requirements for chief engineer (limited oceans) of steam and/or motor vessels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Service requirements for chief engineer (limited oceans... Requirements for Engineer Officer § 11.518 Service requirements for chief engineer (limited oceans) of steam... engineer (limited oceans) of steam and/or motor vessels is five years total service in the engineroom of...

  13. Limits on the production of neutral penetrating states in a beam dump

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    LoSecco, J.; Sulak, L.; Galik, R.; Horstkotte, J.; Knauer, J.; Williams, H.H.; Soukas, A.; Wanderer, P.; Weng, W.

    1981-01-01

    We present limits on the production of neutral penetrating states produced in 28 GeV proton nucleus collisions. We obtain limits for light, heavy and unstable neutral states. For light stable states our limit sigmasub(I)sigmasub(P) -69 cm 4 /nucleon 2 is more than a factor of 5.5 better than previous limits. Time of flight techniques are used to study heavy states. We have poor sensitivity to short-lived states. (orig.)

  14. State administration and financing of family planning services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weinberg, D

    1972-04-01

    A 1971 survey by the Center for Family Planning Program Development consisted of a questionnaire mailed to health and welfare directors in 50 states and 5 federal jurisdictions concerning their family planning policies and administrative practices. 52 agencies responded; Guam, Mississippi, and Louisiana did not. The major funding for state health agencies was allocated by HEW and by maternal and child health (MCH) formula grants under Title 5 of the Social Security Act. 11 states made additional expenditures of $1.7 million for a variety of purposes. 21 states required local welfare departments to purchase services under the Medicaid program established by Title 19 of the Social Security Act. Administration was assigned to specific organizations within the state health agencies. 31 states reported a total of 128 full-time professional personnel, with 90 assigned at state headquarters level. In general, on a state-by-state basis, the full-time staff does not correspond to the size of the appropriations. Survey findings were useful measures of resource commitments to family planning services by state health and welfare agencies and provided data on future levels of resource requirements.

  15. Limited restaurant service over the Easter weekend

    CERN Multimedia

    2005-01-01

    As Friday, 25 March and Monday, 28 March 2005 are CERN holidays, restaurants no. 1 (Bldg. 501- Meyrin) and no. 3 (Bldg. 866 - Prévessin) will be closed and will remain closed on Saturday, 26 March and Sunday, 27 March. They will re-open on Tuesday, 29 March. During these four days, a limited service will be provided by restaurant no. 2 (Bldg. 504 - Meyrin): on Friday and Monday from 8 a.m. to 8.30 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 8.00 p.m. Hot meals will be served from 12.00 p.m. to 2 p.m. and from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. They will be served at the self-service restaurant on the first floor on Friday and at the cafeteria on the ground floor on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. On Thursday, March 24, all three restaurants will operate according to their usual opening times except for restaurant no. 1 which will close at 9 p.m. instead of 1 a.m.

  16. Limited restaurant service over the Easter weekend

    CERN Multimedia

    2005-01-01

    As Friday, 25 March and Monday, 28 March 2005 are CERN holidays, restaurants No. 1 (Bldg. 501- Meyrin) and No. 3 (Bldg. 866 - Prévessin) will be closed and will remain closed on Saturday, 26 March and Sunday, 27 March. They will re-open on Tuesday, 29 March at 7.00 a.m. During these four days, a limited service will be provided by restaurant No. 2 (Bldg. 504 - Meyrin): on Friday and Monday from 8 a.m. to 8.30 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 8.00 p.m. Hot meals will be served from 12.00 p.m. to 2 p.m. and from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. They will be served at the self-service restaurant on the first floor on Friday and at the cafeteria on the ground floor on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. On Thursday, March 24, all three restaurants will operate according to their usual opening times except for restaurant No. 1, which will close at 9 p.m. instead of 1 a.m.

  17. 31 CFR Appendix C to Subpart C of... - United States Customs Service

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false United States Customs Service C... Customs Service 1. In general. This appendix applies to the United States Customs Service. It sets forth... records and accounting of disclosures. (a) For records which are maintained at the United States Customs...

  18. 77 FR 5614 - Department of State FY11 Service Contract Inventory

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-02-03

    ... DEPARTMENT OF STATE [Public Notice 7785] Department of State FY11 Service Contract Inventory... Contract Inventory. SUMMARY: The Department of State has publically released its Service Contract Inventory.../ . Section 743 of Division C of the FY 2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act, Public Law 111-117, requires...

  19. 76 FR 9399 - Department of State FY10 Service Contract Inventory

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-02-17

    ... DEPARTMENT OF STATE [Public Notice 7321] Department of State FY10 Service Contract Inventory... Contract Inventory. SUMMARY: The Department of State has publically released its Service Contract Inventory for FY10. Section 743 of Division C of the FY 2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act, Public Law 111-117...

  20. 42 CFR 403.321 - State systems for hospital outpatient services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false State systems for hospital outpatient services. 403.321 Section 403.321 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND... application for approval of an outpatient system if the following conditions are met: (a) The State's...

  1. 22 CFR 61.8 - Coordination with United States Customs Service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Coordination with United States Customs Service... FREE FLOW OF AUDIO-VISUAL MATERIALS § 61.8 Coordination with United States Customs Service. (a) Nothing in this part shall preclude examination of imported materials pursuant to the Customs laws and...

  2. The role of non-governmental organizations in providing curative health services in North Darfur State, Sudan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yagub, Abdallah I A; Mtshali, Khondlo

    2015-09-01

    Conflict in North Darfur state, Western Sudan started in 2003, and the delivering of curative health services was becoming a greater challenge for the country's limited resources. NGOs have played an important role in providing curative health services. To examine the role that Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have played in providing curative health services, as well as to identify the difficulties and challenges that affect NGOs in delivering curative health services. Secondary data was collected from different sources, including government offices and medical organizations in Sudan and in North Darfur state. Primary data was obtained through interviews with government and NGOs representatives. The interviews were conducted with (1) expatriates working for international NGOs (N=15) (2) health professionals and administrators working in health sector (N= 45) in the period from November 2010 to January 2011. The government in North Darfur state spent 70% of its financial budget on security, while it spent it less than 1% on providing health services. The international NGOs have been providing 70% of curative health services to the State's population by contributing 52.9% of the health budget and 1 390 health personnel. Since 2003 NGOs have provided technical assistance to the health staff. As a result, more than fifty nurses have been trained to provide care and treatment, more than twenty-three doctors have been trained in laboratory equipment operation, and approximately six senior doctors and hospital directors have received management training. NGOs have been managing and supporting 89 public health facilities, and established 24 health centres in IDP camps, and 20 health centres across all the districts in North Darfur state. The NGOs have played an important role in providing curative health services and in establishing good health facilities, but a future problem is how the government will run these health facilities after a peaceful settlement has been

  3. Slaves of the state - medical internship and community service in South Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erasmus, Nicolette

    2012-06-05

    Owing to a chronic shortage of medical staff in South Africa, sleep-deprived medical interns and community service doctors work up to 200 hours of overtime per month under the state's commuted overtime policy. Nurses moonlight in circumvention of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act. For trainee doctors, overtime over 80 hours is unpaid, and rendered involuntarily under threat of not qualifying to practise medicine in South Africa. As forced labour, and sleep deprivation amounting to cruel and degrading treatment, it is outlawed in international law. No other professional group in the country is subjected to such levels of exploitation and discrimination by the state. These abuses should be challenged under the Constitution. Solutions include the installation of electronic time-recording in state hospitals, cessation of unpaid overtime, limits on medical intern shifts to a maximum of 16 hours, and an investigation by the Human Rights Commission of South Africa.

  4. Part C Service Coordination: State Policies and Models. Synthesis Brief.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Markowitz, Joy

    This brief paper summarizes data from a survey of state coordinators of Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act concerning service coordination to infants and toddlers with disabilities. The survey examined variations in service coordination at the state level including roles of parents, values of key stakeholders, sources of…

  5. 32 CFR 516.10 - Service of civil process within the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 32 National Defense 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Service of civil process within the United States... CIVIL AUTHORITIES AND PUBLIC RELATIONS LITIGATION Service of Process § 516.10 Service of civil process within the United States. (a) Policy. DA officials will not prevent or evade the service or process in...

  6. HIV Services Provided by STD Programs in State and Local Health Departments - United States, 2013-2014.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cuffe, Kendra M; Esie, Precious; Leichliter, Jami S; Gift, Thomas L

    2017-04-07

    The incidence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in the United States is higher among persons with other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and the incidence of other STDs is increased among persons with HIV infection (1). Because infection with an STD increases the risk for HIV acquisition and transmission (1-4), successfully treating STDs might help reduce the spread of HIV among persons at high risk (1-4). Because health department STD programs provide services to populations who are at risk for HIV, ensuring service integration and coordination could potentially reduce the incidence of STDs and HIV. Program integration refers to the combining of STD and HIV prevention programs through structural, service, or policy-related changes such as combining funding streams, performing STD and HIV case matching, or integrating staff members (5). Some STD programs in U.S. health departments are partially or fully integrated with an HIV program (STD/HIV program), whereas other STD programs are completely separate. To assess the extent of provision of HIV services by state and local health department STD programs, CDC analyzed data from a sample of 311 local health departments and 56 state and directly funded city health departments derived from a national survey of STD programs. CDC found variation in the provision of HIV services by STD programs at the state and local levels. Overall, 73.1% of state health departments and 16.1% of local health departments matched STD case report data with HIV data to analyze possible syndemics (co-occurring epidemics that exacerbate the negative health effects of any of the diseases) and overlaps. Similarly, 94.1% of state health departments and 46.7% of local health departments performed site visits to HIV care providers to provide STD information or public health updates. One fourth of state health departments and 39.4% of local health departments provided HIV testing in nonclinical settings (field testing) for STD

  7. 26 CFR 1.904(i)-1 - Limitation on use of deconsolidation to avoid foreign tax credit limitations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... foreign tax credit limitations. 1.904(i)-1 Section 1.904(i)-1 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE... United States § 1.904(i)-1 Limitation on use of deconsolidation to avoid foreign tax credit limitations... applying the foreign tax credit provisions of section 59(a), sections 901 through 908, and section 960, the...

  8. 22 CFR 92.92 - Service of legal process under provisions of State law.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Service of legal process under provisions of... AND RELATED SERVICES Quasi-Legal Services § 92.92 Service of legal process under provisions of State law. It may be found that a State statue purporting to regulate the service of process in foreign...

  9. LIMITED RESTAURANT SERVICE: EASTER WEEK-END

    CERN Multimedia

    2004-01-01

    As Friday April 9 and Monday April 12 2004 are CERN holidays, restaurants no. 1 (Bldg. 501- Meyrin) and no. 3 (Bldg. 866 - Prévessin) will be closed and will remain closed on Saturday and Sunday, April 10 - 11. They will reopen on Tuesday, April 13 at 7 a.m. During these four days, a limited service will be provided by restaurant no. 2 (Bldg. 504 - Meyrin): on Friday and Monday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 8.30 p.m. Hot meals will be served from 11.30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. On Thursday, April 8, all three restaurants will operate according to the usual times except for restaurant no. 1 which will close at 9 p.m. instead of 1 a.m.

  10. Intra-particle oxygen diffusion limitation in solid-state fermentation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oostra, J.; Comte, le E.P.; Heuvel, van den J.C.; Tramper, J.; Rinzema, A.

    2001-01-01

    Oxygen limitation in solid-state fermentation (SSF) has been the topic of modeling studies, but thus far, there has been no experimental elucidation on oxygen-transfer limitation at the particle level. Therefore, intra-particle oxygen transfer was experimentally studied in cultures of Rhizopus

  11. The crisis in United States hospital emergency services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harrison, Jeffrey P; Ferguson, Emily D

    2011-01-01

    Emergency services are critical for high-quality healthcare service provision to support acute illness, trauma and disaster response. The greater availability of emergency services decreases waiting time, improves clinical outcomes and enhances local community well being. This study aims to assess United States (U.S.) acute care hospital staffs ability to provide emergency medical services by evaluating the number of emergency departments and trauma centers. Data were obtained from the 2003 and 2007 American Hospital Association (AHA) annual surveys, which included over 5000 US hospitals and provided extensive information on their infrastructure and healthcare capabilities. U.S. acute care hospital numbers decreased by 59 or 1.1 percent from 2003 to 2007. Similarly, U.S. emergency rooms and trauma centers declined by 125, or 3 percent. The results indicate that US hospital staffs ability to respond to traumatic injury and disasters has declined. Therefore, US hospital managers need to increase their investment in emergency department beds as well as provide state-of-the-art clinical technology to improve emergency service quality. These investments, when linked to other clinical information systems and the electronic medical record, support further healthcare quality improvement. This research uses the AHA annual surveys,which represent self-reported data by individual hospital staff. However, the AHA expendssignificant resources to validate reported information and the annual survey data are widely used for hospital research. The declining US emergency rooms and trauma centers have negative implications for patients needing emergency services. More importantly, this research has significant policy implications because it documents a decline in the US emergency healthcare service infrastructure. This article has important information on US emergency service availability in the hospital industry.

  12. A State-by-State Assessment of Food Service Regulations for Prevention of Norovirus Outbreaks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kambhampati, Anita; Shioda, Kayoko; Gould, L Hannah; Sharp, Donald; Brown, Laura G; Parashar, Umesh D; Hall, Aron J

    2016-09-01

    Noroviruses are the leading cause of foodborne disease in the United States. Foodborne transmission of norovirus is often associated with contamination of food during preparation by an infected food worker. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Food Code provides model food safety regulations for preventing transmission of foodborne disease in restaurants; however, adoption of specific provisions is at the discretion of state and local governments. We analyzed the food service regulations of all 50 states and the District of Columbia (i.e., 51 states) to describe differences in adoption of norovirus-related Food Code provisions into state food service regulations. We then assessed potential correlations between adoption of these regulations and characteristics of foodborne norovirus outbreaks reported to the National Outbreak Reporting System from 2009 through 2014. Of the 51 states assessed, all (100%) required food workers to wash their hands, and 39 (76%) prohibited bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat food. Thirty states (59%) required exclusion of staff with vomiting and diarrhea until 24 h after cessation of symptoms. Provisions requiring a certified food protection manager (CFPM) and a response plan for contamination events (i.e., vomiting) were least commonly adopted; 26 states (51%) required a CFPM, and 8 (16%) required a response plan. Although not statistically significant, states that adopted the provisions prohibiting bare-hand contact (0.45 versus 0.74, P =0.07), requiring a CFPM (0.38 versus 0.75, P =0.09), and excluding ill staff for ≥24 h after symptom resolution (0.44 versus 0.73, P =0.24) each reported fewer foodborne norovirus outbreaks per million person-years than did those states without these provisions. Adoption and compliance with federal recommended food service regulations may decrease the incidence of foodborne norovirus outbreaks.

  13. State and non-state mental health service collaboration in a South African district: a mixed methods study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Janse van Rensburg, André; Petersen, Inge; Wouters, Edwin; Engelbrecht, Michelle; Kigozi, Gladys; Fourie, Pieter; van Rensburg, Dingie; Bracke, Piet

    2018-05-01

    The Life Esidimeni tragedy in South Africa showed that, despite significant global gains in recognizing the salience of integrated public mental health care during the past decade, crucial gaps remain. State and non-state mental health service collaboration is a recognized strategy to increase access to care and optimal use of community resources, but little evidence exist about how it unfolds in low- to middle-income countries. South Africa's Mental Health Policy Framework and Strategic Plan 2013-20 (MHPF) underlines the importance of collaborative public mental health care, though it is unclear how and to what extent this happens. The aim of the study was to explore the extent and nature of state and non-state mental health service collaboration in the Mangaung Metropolitan District, Free State, South Africa. The research involved an equal status, sequential mixed methods design, comprised of social network analysis (SNA) and semi-structured interviews. SNA-structured interviews were conducted with collaborating state and non-state mental health service providers. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with collaborating partners and key stake holders. Descriptive network analyses of the SNA data were performed with Gephi, and thematic analysis of the semi-structured interview data were performed in NVivo. SNA results suggested a fragmented, hospital centric network, with low average density and clustering, and high authority and influence of a specialist psychiatric hospital. Several different types of collaborative interactions emerged, of which housing and treatment adherence a key point of collaboration. Proportional interactions between state and non-state services were low. Qualitative data expanded on these findings, highlighting the range of available mental health services, and pointed to power dynamics as an important consideration in the mental health service network. The fostering of a well-integrated system of care as proposed in the MHPF requires

  14. The Eye of the Beholder: Service Provision and State Legitimacy in Burundi

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nora Stel

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available State legitimacy – particularly its alleged potential to counter state fragility – has received increasing attention in academic and policy literature concerned with African development. Service provision can substantially influence such state legitimacy. Services, however, are mostly provided by a multiplicity of (state and non-state providers. This article therefore specifically explores how joint service delivery by multiple providers shapes the attribution of state legitimacy in Burundi by means of two qualitative case studies. Empirically, the article demonstrates, first, that the process of stakeholder interaction, rather than the output of this process, most distinctly shapes state legitimacy and, second, that there are substantial variations in legitimacy attribution by different stakeholders and for different state institutions. Epistemologically, the article suggests three specific challenges that merit attention in further empirical investigation of state legitimacy in fragile settings: the diversity of people’s expectations; the artificiality of state/non-state distinctions; and the personification and politicization of state institutions.

  15. The Ocean State Report of the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service

    Science.gov (United States)

    von Schuckmann, Karina

    2017-04-01

    COPERNICUS is the European Earth observation and monitoring programme, which aims to give the European Union autonomous and operational capability in space-based observation facilities (see the Sentinel missions) and in situ (measurements in the atmosphere, in the ocean and on the ground), and to operate six interlinked environmental monitoring services for the oceans, the atmosphere, territorial development, emergency situations, security and climate change. In this context, the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service provides an open and free access to regular and systematic information about the physical state and dynamics of the ocean and marine ecosystems for the global ocean and six European regional seas. Mercator Ocean, the French center of global ocean analysis and forecast has been entrusted by the EU to implement and operate the Copernicus Marine Service. The first Ocean State Report Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service has been prepared, and is planned to appear at an annual basis (fall each year) as a unique reference for ocean state reporting. This report contains a state-of-the-art value-added synthesis of the ocean state for the global ocean and the European regional seas from the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service data products and expert analysis. This activity is aiming to reach a wide audience -from the scientific community, over climate and environmental service and agencies, environmental reporting and bodies to the general public. We will give here an overview on the report, highlight main outcomes, and introduce future plans and developments.

  16. 22 CFR 11.30 - Senior Foreign Service officer career candidate and limited non-career appointments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Senior Foreign Service officer career candidate... PERSONNEL APPOINTMENT OF FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS § 11.30 Senior Foreign Service officer career candidate and limited non-career appointments. (a) General considerations. (1) Career officers at the Senior...

  17. [To the 90th anniversary of State Sanitary Epidemiologic Service Formation in Russian Federation].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beliaev, E N; Podunova, L G

    2012-01-01

    State Educational Institution of Higher Professional Training of the Ministry of Health Care and Social Development Foundation of Russian Sanitary Epidemiologic Service dates back to September, 15, 1922, when a Decree on Sanitary Institutions of the Republic was signed. Afterwards the institutions of Sanitary Epidemiologic Service were improved: foundation of State Sanitary Inspectorate (1933-1951), approval of new concept of the Service and intensification of State Sanitary Inspectorate (1951-1991), foundation of State Sanitary Epidemiologic Service, centralization of management and financing of the Service, formation of Sanitary Epidemiologic Legislation (1991-2004), further restructurization of Sanitary Epidemiologic Service in accordance with administrative changes in Russia (2004 until now).

  18. The rare and undiagnosed diseases diagnostic service - application of massively parallel sequencing in a state-wide clinical service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baynam, Gareth; Pachter, Nicholas; McKenzie, Fiona; Townshend, Sharon; Slee, Jennie; Kiraly-Borri, Cathy; Vasudevan, Anand; Hawkins, Anne; Broley, Stephanie; Schofield, Lyn; Verhoef, Hedwig; Walker, Caroline E; Molster, Caron; Blackwell, Jenefer M; Jamieson, Sarra; Tang, Dave; Lassmann, Timo; Mina, Kym; Beilby, John; Davis, Mark; Laing, Nigel; Murphy, Lesley; Weeramanthri, Tarun; Dawkins, Hugh; Goldblatt, Jack

    2016-06-11

    The Rare and Undiagnosed Diseases Diagnostic Service (RUDDS) refers to a genomic diagnostic platform operating within the Western Australian Government clinical services delivered through Genetic Services of Western Australia (GSWA). GSWA has provided a state-wide service for clinical genetic care for 28 years and it serves a population of 2.5 million people across a geographical area of 2.5milion Km(2). Within this context, GSWA has established a clinically integrated genomic diagnostic platform in partnership with other public health system managers and service providers, including but not limited to the Office of Population Health Genomics, Diagnostic Genomics (PathWest Laboratories) and with executive level support from the Department of Health. Herein we describe report presents the components of this service that are most relevant to the heterogeneity of paediatric clinical genetic care. Briefly the platform : i) offers multiple options including non-genetic testing; monogenic and genomic (targeted in silico filtered and whole exome) analysis; and matchmaking; ii) is delivered in a patient-centric manner that is resonant with the patient journey, it has multiple points for entry, exit and re-entry to allow people access to information they can use, when they want to receive it; iii) is synchronous with precision phenotyping methods; iv) captures new knowledge, including multiple expert review; v) is integrated with current translational genomic research activities and best practice; and vi) is designed for flexibility for interactive generation of, and integration with, clinical research for diagnostics, community engagement, policy and models of care. The RUDDS has been established as part of routine clinical genetic services and is thus sustainable, equitably managed and seeks to translate new knowledge into efficient diagnostics and improved health for the whole community.

  19. Analysis of Queue-Length Dependent Vacations and P-Limited Service in BMAP/G/1/N Systems: Stationary Distributions and Optimal Control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. D. Banik

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available We consider a finite-buffer single server queueing system with queue-length dependent vacations where arrivals occur according to a batch Markovian arrival process (BMAP. The service discipline is P-limited service, also called E-limited with limit variation (ELV where the server serves until either the system is emptied or a randomly chosen limit of L customers has been served. Depending on the number of customers present in the system, the server will monitor his vacation times. Queue-length distributions at various epochs such as before, arrival, arbitrary and after, departure have been obtained. Several other service disciplines like Bernoulli scheduling, nonexhaustive service, and E-limited service can be treated as special cases of the P-limited service. Finally, the total expected cost function per unit time is considered to determine locally optimal values N* of N or a maximum limit L^* of L^ as the number of customers served during a service period at a minimum cost.

  20. Three-legged platform in a plastic limit state

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lagoni, P

    1990-06-01

    This document provides structural description, formulars and a sample analysis of a platform supported by three piles and subject to loads that causes plastic deformation of the foundation (plastic limit state analysis). (au)

  1. The United States should forego a damage-limitation capability against China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glaser, Charles L.

    2017-11-01

    Bottom Lines • THE KEY STRATEGIC NUCLEAR CHOICE. Whether to attempt to preserve its damage-limitation capability against China is the key strategic nuclear choice facing the United States. The answer is much less clear-cut than when the United States faced the Soviet Union during the Cold War. • FEASIBILITY OF DAMAGE LIMITATION. Although technology has advanced significantly over the past three decades, future military competition between the U.S. and Chinese forces will favor large-scale nuclear retaliation over significant damage limitation. • BENEFITS AND RISKS OF A DAMAGE-LIMITATION CAPABILITY. The benefits provided by a modest damage-limitation capability would be small, because the United States can meet its most important regional deterrent requirements without one. In comparison, the risks, which include an increased probability of accidental and unauthorized Chinese attacks, as well as strained U.S.—China relations, would be large. • FOREGO DAMAGE LIMITATION. These twin findings—the poor prospects for prevailing in the military competition, and the small benefits and likely overall decrease in U.S. security—call for a U.S. policy that foregoes efforts to preserve or enhance its damage-limitation capability.

  2. The state of the psychology health service provider workforce.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michalski, Daniel S; Kohout, Jessica L

    2011-12-01

    Numerous efforts to describe the health service provider or clinical workforce in psychology have been conducted during the past 30 years. The American Psychological Association (APA) has studied trends in the doctoral education pathway and the resultant effects on the broader psychology workforce. During this period, the creation and growth of the PsyD degree and the formalization of the predoctoral internship placement system (the APPIC Match) have been well noted, but efforts to gain a complete understanding of professional practice are lacking. Specifically, piecemeal research on the provider workforce has led to the study of specific subpopulations using varying approaches and definitions of those providing direct clinical service. Consequently, estimates of the supply and need for health service providers are distinctly divergent and generate protracted debate in organized psychology. The APA membership directory and the APA Doctorate Employment Surveys have traditionally been relied on for workforce analyses. Yet, these data have become characterized by limited generalizability in recent years because of declining survey response rates and the fact that APA member data may not be as representative of the entire psychology health service provider population as they were previously. The 2008 APA Survey of Psychology Health Service Providers targeted these limitations by including nonmember psychologists in the sampling frame. Results revealed emerging themes in the demographics, work settings, and delivery of health services of the psychology health service provider workforce. Future areas of research for APA and organized psychology to undertake in addressing need and demand are suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved).

  3. The Development of Logistics Services in the United States

    OpenAIRE

    Yang, Yeonglin H; San Diego State University

    2015-01-01

    This research studies third party logistics (3PL) providers in the United States to investigate how the industry has strategically developed its service offerings in response to the customers’ growing needs in managing global supply chains. Logistics management has significant impacts on various aspects of supply chains such as response time, total supply chain cost, sourcing risk, customer service, security, etc. The results show that 3PL services vary based on industry served, region served...

  4. State insurance parity legislation for autism services and family financial burden.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parish, Susan; Thomas, Kathleen; Rose, Roderick; Kilany, Mona; McConville, Robert

    2012-06-01

    We examined the association between states' legislative mandates that private insurance cover autism services and the health care-related financial burden reported by families of children with autism. Child and family data were drawn from the National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs (N  =  2,082 children with autism). State policy characteristics were taken from public sources. The 3 outcomes were whether a family had any out-of-pocket health care expenditures during the past year for their child with autism, the expenditure amount, and expenditures as a proportion of family income. We modeled the association between states' autism service mandates and families' financial burden, adjusting for child-, family-, and state-level characteristics. Overall, 78% of families with a child with autism reported having any health care expenditures for their child for the prior 12 months. Among these families, 54% reported expenditures of more than $500, with 34% spending more than 3% of their income. Families living in states that enacted legislation mandating coverage of autism services were 28% less likely to report spending more than $500 for their children's health care costs, net of child and family characteristics. Families living in states that enacted parity legislation mandating coverage of autism services were 29% less likely to report spending more than $500 for their children's health care costs, net of child and family characteristics. This study offers preliminary evidence in support of advocates' arguments that requiring private insurers to cover autism services will reduce families' financial burdens associated with their children's health care expenses.

  5. Public health services and systems research: current state of finance research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ingram, Richard C; Bernet, Patrick M; Costich, Julia F

    2012-11-01

    There is a growing recognition that the US public health system should strive for efficiency-that it should determine the optimal ways to utilize limited resources to improve and protect public health. The field of public health finance research is a critical part of efforts to understand the most efficient ways to use resources. This article discusses the current state of public health finance research through a review of public health finance literature, chronicles important lessons learned from public health finance research to date, discusses the challenges faced by those seeking to conduct financial research on the public health system, and discusses the role of public health finance research in relation to the broader endeavor of Public Health Services and Systems Research.

  6. Linking ecosystem services with state-and-transition models to evaluate rangeland management decisions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lohani, S.; Heilman, P.; deSteiguer, J. E.; Guertin, D. P.; Wissler, C.; McClaran, M. P.

    2014-12-01

    Quantifying ecosystem services is a crucial topic for land management decision making. However, market prices are usually not able to capture all the ecosystem services and disservices. Ecosystem services from rangelands, that cover 70% of the world's land area, are even less well-understood since knowledge of rangelands is limited. This study generated a management framework for rangelands that uses remote sensing to generate state and transition models (STMs) for a large area and a linear programming (LP) model that uses ecosystem services to evaluate natural and/or management induced transitions as described in the STM. The LP optimization model determines the best management plan for a plot of semi-arid land in the Empire Ranch in southeastern Arizona. The model allocated land among management activities (do nothing, grazing, fire, and brush removal) to optimize net benefits and determined the impact of monetizing environmental services and disservices on net benefits, acreage allocation and production output. The ecosystem services under study were forage production (AUM/ac/yr), sediment (lbs/ac/yr), water runoff (inches/yr), soil loss (lbs/ac/yr) and recreation (thousands of number of visitors/ac/yr). The optimization model was run for three different scenarios - private rancher, public rancher including environmental services and excluding disservices, and public rancher including both services and disservices. The net benefit was the highest for the public rancher excluding the disservices. A result from the study is a constrained optimization model that incorporates ecosystem services to analyze investments on conservation and management activities. Rangeland managers can use this model to understand and explain, not prescribe, the tradeoffs of management investments.

  7. 46 CFR 11.522 - Service requirements for assistant engineer (limited oceans) of steam and/or motor vessels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... oceans) of steam and/or motor vessels. 11.522 Section 11.522 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND... Requirements for Engineer Officer § 11.522 Service requirements for assistant engineer (limited oceans) of... assistant engineer (limited oceans) of steam and/or motor vessels is three years of service in the...

  8. Comparison between the United States Soil Conservation Service ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2005-10-26

    Oct 26, 2005 ... The United States Soil Conservation Service (SCS) curve number method is used to estimate rainfall .... Precipitation is an important element in many engineering ... National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

  9. Computer Programme Library at Ispra: Service to IAEA Member States

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1974-01-01

    In 1964, in view of the increasingly important role of computers in atomic energy, the Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development established a Computer Programme Library (CPL) at Ispra, Italy. The original purpose of this Library, then consisting chiefly of programmes for reactor calculations, was to improve communication between the originators of the computer programmes and the scientists and engineers in Member States of the OECD who used them, thus furthering the efficient and economic use of the many large and expensive computers in the countries concerned. During the first few years of the Library's operation, a growing interest in its activities became evident in countries which were not members of the OECD. The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, aware that such countries which were Member States of the IAEA could benefit from the Library's services, concluded an agreement with the Nuclear Energy Agency in 1967 to the effect that these services would be extended to all IAEA Member States. In March 1968, the Director General announced by circular letter that these services were available, and requested the governments of Member States that were not members of OECD to nominate establishments to participate in the activities of the Computer Programme Library. By August 1973, 32 such establishments were regularly using the services of the CPL

  10. Basis states for the rotational and vibrational limits of nuclear collective motion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vanagas, V.; Alishauskas, S.; Kalinauskas, R.; Nadzhakov, E.

    1980-01-01

    Basis states characterized by quantum numbers traditionally used in the rotational and the vibrational limits are treated in an unified way. An explicit basis construction in the Hilbert space of the collective phenomenological nuclear Hamiltonian generalized to six degrees of freedom in both limits is given. This generalization reduces to including an additional degree of freedom allowing to treat both cases within a collective substance of the complete many-body Hilbert space. A group-theoretical approach is applied. From this point of view the problem is reduced to the construction of a set of U(6)-irreducible states labelled by quantum numbers of two special chains of subgroups adapted for the rotational and vibrational limits. In particular, the generalization is more complicated in the case of the chain for the rotational limits. The explicit construction of a basis for both limits is carried out in two steps: 1) construction of the highest weight state for corresponding group irreducible representation - in the case of the rotational limit U(3) and of the vibrational limit O(5); 2) generating a complete set of states by the projection technique. In this framework it is possible to diagonalize a general phenomenological Hamiltonian in cases different from both limits. It is also possible to calculate transition probabilities induced by any physical quantity

  11. Equation of limiting plasticity of the metal upon complex stress state

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tin'gaev, A.K.

    2002-01-01

    A method for evaluation of the limiting plasticity of the metal in the zones of complex 3D stress state is presented. An analytic equation is derived for limiting plasticity. Parameters of the equation are expresses through the standard characteristics of the mechanical properties determined upon static tension of the smooth sample. Introduced into the obtained analytical equation is a universal fracture constant which indirectly characterizes the state of the material from the point of view of its capacity for elastic overstrain relaxation in the form of plastic flow or fracture. The new equation makes it possible to estimate the limiting plasticity of the metal in a state of complex stress on the basis of traditional characteristics of mechanical properties, which are not difficult to determine [ru

  12. Opportunities and limitations for using new media and mobile phones to expand access to sexual and reproductive health information and services for adolescent girls and young women in six Nigerian states.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akinfaderin-Agarau, Fadekem; Chirtau, Manre; Ekponimo, Sylvia; Power, Samantha

    2012-06-01

    Reproductive health problems are a challenge affecting young people in Nigeria. Education as a Vaccine (EVA) implements the My Question and Answer Service, using mobile phones to provide sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information and services. Use of the service by adolescent girls and young women is low. Focus group discussions were held with 726 females to assess their access to mobile phones, as well as the barriers and limitations to the use of their phones to seek SRH information and services. Results demonstrate high mobile phone access but limited use of phones to access SRH information and services. Barriers to use of these services include cost of service for young female clients, request for socio-demographic information that could break anonymity, poor marketing and publicity, socio-cultural beliefs and expectations of young girls, individual personality and beliefs, as well as infrastructural/network quality. It is therefore recommended that these barriers be adequately addressed to increase the potential use of mobile phone for providing adolescent and young girls with SRH information and services. In addition, further initiatives and research are needed to explore the potentials of social media in meeting this need.

  13. Comparing the New York State Smokers' Quitline Reach, Services Offered, and Quit Outcomes to 44 Other State Quitlines, 2010 to 2015.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mann, Nathan; Nonnemaker, James; Chapman, LeTonya; Shaikh, Asma; Thompson, Jesse; Juster, Harlan

    2018-06-01

    To summarize the reach, services offered, and cessation outcomes of the New York Quitline and compare with other state quitlines. Descriptive study. Forty-five US states. State-sponsored tobacco cessation quitlines in 45 US states that provided complete data to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Quitline Data Warehouse (NQDW) for 24 quarters over 6 years (2010-Q1 through 2015-Q4). Telephone quitlines that offer tobacco use cessation services, including counseling, self-help materials, and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), to smokers at no cost to them. Percentage of adult tobacco users in the state who received counseling and/or free NRT from state quitlines (reach), services offered by state quitlines, and cessation outcomes among quitline clients 7 months after using quitline services. Reach, services offered, and cessation outcomes for the New York Quitline were compared with similar measures for the other 44 state quitlines with complete NQDW data for all quarters from 2010 through 2015. New York's average annual quitline reach from 2010 through 2015 was 3.0% per year compared to 1.1% per year for the other 44 states examined. Although the New York Quitline was open fewer hours per week and offered fewer counseling sessions and a smaller amount of free NRT than most of the other 44 state quitlines, the New York Quitline had similar quit rates to most of those state quitlines.

  14. Relationships Between Service Personal Values, Service Value, Satisfaction, and Loyalty: A Study Regarding Services of Private and State Hospitals in Turkey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Metin Argan

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Service and value are the two inseparable concepts in experiential service environment. Service personal value is a concept that is subjectively assessed from a consumer perspective, and is associated with service value, consumer satisfaction and loyalty. In this context, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between services personal values, service value, satisfaction, and loyalty. Data were collected from persons (996 receiving services from private hospitals and state hospitals using convenience sampling method. The scales of service personal values, service value, satisfaction and loyalty were adapted from literature. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA was used to investigate validity and reliability of the scales. Then, a structural equation model (SEM was developed and tested using data with Lisrel 8.80 software. The results of the study indicate significant relationships between services personal values, service value, satisfaction, and loyalty. The results of the study have significant implications as to how well private hospital managers design strategies of health service, satisfaction, and loyalty.

  15. The Effect of Manpower Planning and Development in Lagos State (Nigeria Civil Service Performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chinyeaka J. Igbokwe-Ibeto

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The study examined effects of manpower planning and development in Lagos state civil service performance. Lagos state civil service is the greatest asset of the state in its quest for socio-economic development. The primary question that was explored is whether the nature of manpower planning and development curriculum in Lagos state civil service has effect on the service performance and the attainment of state objective. The study relied on primary and secondary data, and multiple stage sampling technique was used to select the sample population. The data collected was presented in frequency bar chart and simple percentage. Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMC statistical tool was used to test the hypotheses. Findings of the study show that the nature of manpower planning and development curriculum has a positive effect on the Lagos state civil performance. It also reveals that the manpower planning and development has a positive effect on the attainment of Lagos state objective. To achieve better performance in the service, it should among others, improve on the current manpower planning strategy and continue to update its manpower development curriculum in line with the global best practices. Given the pivotal role that technology plays in the 21st century, the service should avail itself the windows of opportunities that information technology provides in its drive to enhance employees’ skills, knowledge and abilities that will invariably improve the service performance. Yet, the service should imbibe the prescripts of New PublicManagement theory (NPM, and that goals and targets should be defined and measurable as indicators of organizational performance.

  16. A Study of Customer Relationship Management Practices in Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dharmendra MEHTA

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available The state-owned undertakings in India have been catering to the needs of people in various forms. Madhya Pradesh (MP is no exception to it. To promote tourism in the state and serve people with various offerings, Government of MP launched Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation (MPSTDC. It started with hotels and resorts at various tourist spots in MP. It got tied up with many allied agencies for promoting tourism in the state. In 1995, the new tourism policy was launched to serve customers with add-on benefits. Later, they launched airconditioned luxury buses for tourists and other passengers. People gave warm response to this service. These bus services were considered to be punctual and customer service oriented. The objective was to serve the people with high level of comfort and safety. The corporation has achieved this objective to a large extent. The research study is an attempt to determine the factors that constitute the base of customer relationship management (CRM with respect to MP Tourism services. The study was conducted on 250 passengers using MP Tourism bus services. Comparison between MPSTDC-owned bus services and private operator services of the same category was done to measure their performance. The passengers’ point of view was received and effectiveness of MP Tourism bus services was determined on various parameters.

  17. Quantum limits of Eisenstein series and scattering states

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petridis, Y.N.; Raulf, N.; Risager, Morten S.

    2013-01-01

    We identify the quantum limits of scattering states for the modular surface. This is obtained through the study of quantum measures of non-holomorphic Eisenstein series away from the critical line. We provide a range of stability for the quantum unique ergodicity theorem of Luo and Sarnak....

  18. A General Finite Element Scheme for Limit State Analysis and Optimization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Damkilde, Lars

    1999-01-01

    Limit State analysis which is based on a perfect material behaviour is used in many different applications primarily within Structural Engineering and Geotechnics. The calculation methods have not reached the same level of automation such as Finite Element Analysis for elastic structures....... The computer based systems are more ad hoc based and are typically not well-integrated with pre- and postprocessors well-known from commercial Finite Element codes.A finite element based formulation of limit state analysis is presented which allows an easy integration with standard Finite Element codes...... for elastic analysis. In this way the user is able to perform a limit state analysis on the same model used for elastic analysis only adding data for the yield surface.The method is based on the lower-bound theorem and uses stress-based elements with a linearized yield surface. The mathematical problem...

  19. Assessing STD Partner Services in State and Local Health Departments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cuffe, Kendra M; Leichliter, Jami S; Gift, Thomas L

    2018-02-07

    State and local health department STD programs provide several partner services to reduce disease transmission. Budget cuts and temporary staff reassignments for public health emergencies may affect the provision of partner services. Determining the impact of staffing reductions on STD rates and public health response should be further assessed.

  20. 5 CFR 3101.111 - Additional rules for United States Secret Service employees. [Reserved

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 5 Administrative Personnel 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Additional rules for United States Secret Service employees. [Reserved] 3101.111 Section 3101.111 Administrative Personnel DEPARTMENT OF THE....111 Additional rules for United States Secret Service employees. [Reserved] ...

  1. 32 CFR 516.12 - Service of civil process outside the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 32 National Defense 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Service of civil process outside the United... AID OF CIVIL AUTHORITIES AND PUBLIC RELATIONS LITIGATION Service of Process § 516.12 Service of civil process outside the United States. (a) Process of foreign courts. In foreign countries service of process...

  2. 76 FR 52378 - Privacy Act; System of Records: State-76, Personal Services Contractor Records

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-22

    ... Services Contractor Records SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Department of State proposes to create a new system of records, Personal Services Contractor Records, State-76, pursuant to the provisions... July 20, 2011. It is proposed that the new system be named ``Personal Services Contractor Records.'' It...

  3. A Comparative Analysis of Domestic Violence Shelter Staff Perceptions Regarding Barriers to Services in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grubb, Jonathan A; Muftić, Lisa R

    2017-11-01

    Service provision for domestic violence (DV) survivors has been a long-standing staple of shelters in the United States. Although shelter services provide numerous benefits for survivors, barriers tied to acquisition remain a pressing concern when combatting DV. Nevertheless, there has been minimal research exploring barriers to service acquisition on a cross-national level. As such, the current research cross-nationally examines perceptions of shelter staff regarding acquisition barriers as well as the effectiveness of local agencies to meet survivor needs and differences in populations served in the United States (specifically Texas) as well as in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Data collection stemmed from self-report surveys originally constructed in English and translated into Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian. Results underscored differences between populations served, perceptions of local agencies assisting survivors of DV, and barriers tied to cultural and financial concerns. Implications, limitations, and future directions are also discussed.

  4. Managing Urban Water: Opportunities and Limitations of the Ecosystem Services Framework

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamel, P.; Keeler, B.; Donahue, M.; Hobbie, S. E.; Finlay, J. C.; Brauman, K. A.; Vogl, A.

    2015-12-01

    Traditionally applied to rural environments, the concept of ES is gaining traction in urban areas, overlapping with a number of existing management frameworks in engineering, policy science, political ecology, or urban planning. Given this overlap, it is legitimate to question the value added by the ES concept, either as a theoretical or practical framework. This is particularly the case for urban water management, where new paradigms in engineering and socio-hydrology are increasingly bringing a social dimension to problem solving. In this talk, I will illustrate key opportunities and limitations of the ES framework with a focus on the service of stormwater retention. Drawing from examples in the Global North and South (including Melbourne, Australia, and Cape Town, South Africa), I will show that the ES lens allows: i) an explicit linkage between beneficiaries and grey and green infrastructure, which improves visibility and credibility of techniques valuing urban nature; ii) an improved understanding of tradeoffs and synergies between services, even in regions with limited environmental or socio-economic data; and iii) the development of powerful visualization techniques, enhancing communication with a broad range of stakeholders. These strengths make ES assessments a powerful tool to raise awareness or assist urban planners in realizing their vision of green cities. However, in cities like Melbourne with high capacity and innovative governance, I will argue that the instrumental use of ES is limited and may even be detrimental; limitations of the ES framework, which include a perceived partiality and vagueness, may be used by detractors to undermine the work of urban planners envisioning a greener city. To conclude the talk, I will present the work that the Natural Capital Project is conducting on the application of the ES concept for global indicators of sustainable development, thereby supporting the monitoring and implementation of urban Sustainable

  5. Factors associated with worker slipping in limited-service restaurants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Courtney, Theodore K; Verma, Santosh K; Huang, Yueng-Hsiang; Chang, Wen-Ruey; Li, Kai Way; Filiaggi, Alfred J

    2010-02-01

    Slips, trips and falls (STF) are responsible for a substantial injury burden in the global workplace. Restaurant environments are challenged by STF. This study assessed individual and work environment factors related to slipping in US limited-service restaurant workers. Workers in 10 limited-service restaurants in Massachusetts were recruited to participate. Workers' occupational slip and/or fall history within the past 4 weeks was collected by multilingual written questionnaires. Age, gender, job tenure, work hours per week and work shift were also collected. Shoe type, condition and gross shoe contamination were visually assessed. Floor friction was measured and each restaurant's overall mean coefficient of friction (COF) was calculated. The logistic generalised estimating equations model was used to compute adjusted odds ratios (OR). Of 125 workers, 42 reported one or more slips in the past 4 weeks with two reporting a resultant fall. Results from multivariable regression showed that higher restaurant mean COF was significantly associated with a decreased risk of self-reported slipping (OR 0.59, 95% CI 0.42 to 0.82). From the highest to the lowest COF restaurant, the odds of a positive slip history increased by a factor of more than seven. Younger age, male gender, lower weekly work hours and the presence of gross contamination on worker's shoe sole were also associated with increased odds of slip history. Published findings of an association between friction and slipping and falling in actual work environments are rare. The findings suggest that effective intervention strategies to reduce the risk of slips and falls in restaurant workers could include increasing COF and improving housekeeping practices.

  6. Container shipping service selection and cargo routing with transshipment limits

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Balakrishnan, Anantaram; Karsten, Christian Vad

    2017-01-01

    containing links (representing sub-paths) between every pair of ports visited by a candidate service. This sub-path structure, together with our approach of indexing the flow variables by transportation stage, enables the model to accurately capture transshipment costs and enforce transshipment limits....... To reduce the computational time to solve this problem, we develop preprocessing steps that exploit network structure to eliminate variables, describe valid inequalities to strengthen the model's linear programming relaxation, and propose an optimization-based heuristic algorithm to generate good initial...

  7. Comparison between the United States Soil Conservation Service ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The United States Soil Conservation Service (SCS) curve number method is used to estimate rainfall runoff from three sub-watersheds in South-Eastern Botswana. This approach uses the NASA Endeavour Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) DEMs, digital soil data from the Botswana Ministry of Agriculture, rainfall ...

  8. Use of Cybercafe's Services by Households in Delta State, Nigeria ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Cyber cafés' provide important public services. They provide access to wide range of information through the internet via the computer. The study is centered on the use of cyber cafés by households in Delta State. Services provided by the cyber café's were identified. The study revealed that Household with children under ...

  9. Mental Health Services to State Corrections Inmates. Staff Brief 86-10.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henkel, Jane R.

    This report was written for the Advisory Committee on Mentally Ill Inmates of the Wisconsin State Legislative Council's Special Committee on Mental Health Issues. It describes mental health services to inmates of Wisconsin's state prisons. Part I describes the organization of state level responsibilities for corrections, including the state…

  10. Inconsistencies Exist in National Estimates of Eye Care Services Utilization in the United States

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fernando A. Wilson

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. There are limited research and substantial uncertainty about the level of eye care utilization in the United States. Objectives. Our study estimated eye care utilization using, to our knowledge, every known nationally representative, publicly available database with information on office-based optometry or ophthalmology services. Research Design. We analyzed the following national databases to estimate eye care utilization: the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS, National Health Interview Survey (NHIS, Joint Canada/US Survey of Health (JCUSH, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS, and the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS. Subjects. US adults aged 18 and older. Measures. Self-reported utilization of eye care services. Results. The weighted number of adults seeing or talking with any eye doctor ranges from 87.9 million to 99.5 million, and the number of visits annually ranges from 72.9 million to 142.6 million. There were an estimated 17.2 million optometry visits and 55.8 million ophthalmology visits. Conclusions. The definitions and estimates of eye care services vary widely across national databases, leading to substantial differences in national estimates of eye care utilization.

  11. DEFINITION OF PUBLIC SERVICE OBLIGATION POTENTIAL IN THE NEW EU MEMBER STATES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martin HROMÁDKA

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper deals with public service obligation, a form of state aid that applies to air services. The paper first provides general information on the European legislation applying to this form of state aid, and elaborates the legal framework and general principles. The second part is dedicated to a comparison of a similar subsidizing programme in the USA and Australia. An examination of current imposed public service obligation routes in Europe is provided in the following section. The coefficients defining the number of imposed PSO routes per various geo-economic variables have been defined.

  12. 32 CFR 516.9 - Service of criminal process within the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 32 National Defense 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Service of criminal process within the United... OF CIVIL AUTHORITIES AND PUBLIC RELATIONS LITIGATION Service of Process § 516.9 Service of criminal process within the United States. (a) Surrender of personnel. Guidance for surrender of military personnel...

  13. Ultimate limit states of steel containment vessel under earthquake loadings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akiyama, Hiroshi; Yuhara, Tetsuo; Shimizu, Seiichi; Hayashi, Kazutoshi; Takahashi, Tadao.

    1986-01-01

    The limit state induced by buckling of cylindrical steel structures under earthquake loadings was investigated from the standpoint of energy concept. A number of the buckling test of cylindrical steel shell structures has been made, which showed that they have a stable load-displacement relation and adequate deformation capacities beyond the buckling. The authors are proposing that the energy input imparted by strong earthquakes to buckled structures and the deformation capacity in post-buckling are suitable indices for seismic resistance of the cylindrical steel shell structures because the buckling does not cause the structure immediately to collapse in the case of such repeated loading as earthquake motions. The purpose of this study is to investigate the energy input to buckled cylindrical steel structures with an increase in the intensity of earthquake motions. A series of nonlinear dynamic analyses were performed under various types of earthquake records by using a hysteresis loop, including buckling, which was derived from the buckling tests. The limit state could be defined as the state in which the deformation of and the energy input into buckled structures increase divergently when the intensity of the earthquake excitation exceeds a certain value. The results obtained in this paper are intended to be adopted to the limit state in the post-buckling region to evaluate the margin of safety against the buckling resistance of cylindrical steel structures under strong earthquake loadings. (author)

  14. 7 CFR 28.917 - Limitations of Services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing Practices), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE COMMODITY STANDARDS AND STANDARD CONTAINER... classification services shall result in loss of service. ...

  15. 31 CFR 515.548 - Services rendered by Cuba to United States aircraft.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Services rendered by Cuba to United... REGULATIONS Licenses, Authorizations, and Statements of Licensing Policy § 515.548 Services rendered by Cuba to United States aircraft. Specific licenses are issued for payment to Cuba of charges for services...

  16. Availability of tobacco cessation services in substance use disorder treatment programs: Impact of state tobacco control policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abraham, Amanda J; Bagwell-Adams, Grace; Jayawardhana, Jayani

    2017-08-01

    Given the high prevalence of smoking among substance use disorder (SUD) patients, the specialty SUD treatment system is an important target for adoption and implementation of tobacco cessation (TC) services. While research has addressed the impact of tobacco control on individual tobacco consumption, largely overlooked in the literature is the potential impact of state tobacco control policies on availability of services for tobacco cessation. This paper examines the association between state tobacco control policy and availability of TC services in SUD treatment programs in the United States. State tobacco control and state demographic data (n=51) were merged with treatment program data from the 2012 National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (n=10.413) to examine availability of TC screening, counseling and pharmacotherapy services in SUD treatment programs using multivariate logistic regression models clustered at the state-level. Approximately 60% of SUD treatment programs offered TC screening services, 41% offered TC counseling services and 26% offered TC pharmacotherapy services. Results of multivariate logistic regression showed the odds of offering TC services were greater for SUD treatment programs located in states with higher cigarette excise taxes and greater spending on tobacco prevention and control. Findings indicate cigarette excise taxes and recommended funding levels may be effective policy tools for increasing access to TC services in SUD treatment programs. Coupled with changes to insurance coverage for TC under the Affordable Care Act, state tobacco control policy tools may further reduce tobacco use in the United States. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  17. The Relationship between the Efficiency, Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction for State-Owned Commercial Banks in China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meehyang Chang

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available In 2006, China fully opened up its financial markets. This means that the banking industry is facing a more severe competitive environment, which requires not only the operational efficiency of the bank but also customer satisfaction for the quality of service. As the reform and opening up policy started from the eastern costal areas in China, there are differences in economic development levels by the region, and so are the levels of financial development. Therefore, it is necessary to study the effect of regional differences on bank efficiency. Prior studies also showed a lot of limitations about using data envelopment analysis, in that the efficiencies of the bank are only measured without consideration of other managerial aspects of the service and customer satisfaction. Thus, this study aims to analyze the efficiencies of twenty state-owned commercial banks in five provinces of China. The relationships between bank efficiency, service quality, and customer satisfaction are analyzed. The data used for the analysis was obtained from the 2015 Chinese Banking Statistics. As a result, the average technical efficiency of twenty state-owned banks is as high as 81.9%. It is also found that the bank’s service quality has a positive impact on efficiency and customer satisfaction. In the case of banks that are located in areas with high economic levels, customer satisfaction is lower than that of banks in lower regions. This is because customers in high economic level regions have higher expectations for service quality and it leads to lower customer satisfaction.

  18. Revenue stream: How state taxes fund public services, amenities

    OpenAIRE

    Brye Steeves

    2009-01-01

    Each state has a portfolio with a varying assortment of revenue sources, such as income tax and sales tax, which are affected by the health of the economy. In down times, services get cut or taxes are raised.

  19. Personalized commissioning, public spaces: the limits of the market in English social care services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Needham, Catherine

    2013-01-01

    The article explores the implications of personal budgets within English social care services, which position the individual as market actor. Rooting the research in the broader personalization agenda, the study looks at the limitations of the market in relation to individual purchase of private goods (e.g. home care), in the pooling of funds to purchase group services and in the provision of public goods such as building-based services. The article takes a multi-method approach, combining an interpretive focus on the framing of the personal budget-holder by advocates of personalization with national evaluation data, and data from a small survey of day centre workers. The article identifies three framings of the individual budget-holder articulated by advocates of personalization. The first is that personal budget-holders will be empowered market actors, commissioning the services they need. The second is that budget-holders will pool resources with others to purchase group services in order to broaden the range of options available to them. The third is that services which cannot be disaggregated into individual or group budgets - such as day centres - are not valued by service users. The article looks at the evaluation data on these three claims in turn. It identifies four limitations to the capacity of people to purchase care goods on an individual basis: lack of transparency in allocating budgets, complexity in managing a budget, excessive auditing of spending and lack of responsiveness from the provider market. Pooling of budgets to purchase collective services is found to be underdeveloped, and hampered by the complexity which is a broader limitation on personal budgets. Day centres are found to be closing not in response to commissioning decisions by individual budget-holders but because of decommissioning by local authorities, minimising the scope for individuals to express a preference for this type of care. The survey highlights patterns of day centre

  20. Opportunities and Limitations for Using New Media and Mobile ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Opportunities and Limitations for Using New Media and Mobile Phones to Expand Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Information and Services for Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Six Nigerian States.

  1. Threshold limit values, permissible exposure limits, and feasibility: The bases for exposure limits in the United States

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rappaport, S.M.

    1993-01-01

    The development of exposure limits in the United States has always relied heavily upon the threshold limit values (TLVs) developed by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH). In fact, the TLVs were adopted as official exposure limits by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in 1972 and 1989. Given the continuing importance of the ACGIH limits, this paper compares the basis of the TLVs with that employed by OSHA de novo in its 12 new permissible exposure limits (PELs). Using benzene as an example, it is shown that OSHA's new PELs have been established following a rigorous assessment of the inherent risks and the feasibility of instituting the limit. The TLVs, on the other hand, have been developed by ad hoc procedures and appear to have traditionally reflected levels thought to be achievable at the time. However, this might be changing. Analysis of the historical reductions of TLVs, for 27 substances on the 1991-1992 list of intended changes, indicates smaller reductions in the past (median reduction of 2.0-2.5-fold between 1946 and 1988) compared to those currently being observed (median reduction of 7.5-fold between 1989 and 1991). Further analysis suggests a more aggressive policy of the ACGIH regarding TLVs for carcinogens but not for substances that produce effects other than cancer. Regardless of whether the basis of the TLVs has changed recently, it would take a relatively long time for the impact of any change to be felt, since the median age of the 1991-1992 TLVs is 16.5 years, and 75% of these limits are more than 10 years old. The implications of OSHA's continued reliance on the TLVs as a means of updating its PELs are discussed, and four alternatives are presented to the ACGIH regarding the future of its activities related to exposure limits. It is concluded that new mechanisms are needed for OSHA to update its PELs in a timely fashion so that the TLVs will not be adopted by default in the future

  2. Family-Centered Services for Children with ASD and Limited Speech: The Experiences of Parents and Speech-Language Pathologists

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mandak, Kelsey; Light, Janice

    2018-01-01

    Although family-centered services have long been discussed as essential in providing successful services to families of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), ideal implementation is often lacking. This study aimed to increase understanding of how families with children with ASD and limited speech receive services from speech-language…

  3. Virtual age model for equipment aging plant based on operation environment and service state

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Liming; Cai Qi; Zhao Xinwen; Chen Ling

    2010-01-01

    The accelerated life model based on the operation environment and service state was established by taking the virtual age as the equipment aging indices. The effect of different operation environments and service states on the reliability and virtual age under the continuum operation conditions and cycle operation conditions were analyzed, and the sensitivities of virtual age on operational environments and service states were studied. The results of the example application show that the effect of NPP equipment lifetime and the key parameters related to the reliability can be quantified by this model, and the result is in accordance with the reality.(authors)

  4. Understanding the Limitations to the Right to Strike in Essential and Public Services in the SADC Region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rochelle le Roux

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available The nature of the limitations to the right to strike in essential and public services in the nine sub-regional countries of Southern Africa – South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe – is examined in this contribution. While all of these countries share common influences and face common challenges, there appears to be a vast disparity in the approaches taken to the right to strike in public and essential services in the region. A brief overview of the demographics and labour markets in the countries under discussion is sketched, the salient features of the ILO's approach to strike in essential and public services is highlighted, and a broad overview of the contrasting and disparate approaches to essential and public services in the region is provided. The focus is, however, on the legislative approach taken to essential service employees in South Africa. It is concluded that – with the exception of South Africa and Namibia – the limitations to the right to strike of public sector employees exceed those endorsed by international conventions, and the broad definition of essential services generally relied upon effectively

  5. Immigrants to the United States and Adult Education Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larrotta, Clarena

    2017-01-01

    This chapter describes documented and undocumented immigrant populations in the United States. It discusses salient factors influencing their status as immigrants as well as adult education services available to them through publicly funded programs, social units, and community centers, especially churches and libraries.

  6. State property tax incentives for promoting ecosystem goods and services from private forest land in the United States: a review and analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michael A. Kilgore; Paul B. Ellefson; Travis J. Funk; Gregory E. Frey

    2017-01-01

    Financial incentives provided by State property tax programs are a means of promoting ecosystem services from private forest land. Identified by this 50-State 2015 review, categories of ecosystem services frequently promoted by such programs are open space and scenic resources, conservation of...

  7. Equity of access to reproductive health services among youths in resource-limited suburban communities of Mandalay City, Myanmar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thin Zaw Phyu Phyu

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Inequity of accessibility to and utilization of reproductive health (RH services among youths is a global concern, especially in resource-limited areas. The level of inequity also varies by cultural and socio-economic contexts. To tailor RH services to the needs of youths, relevant solutions are required. This study aimed to assess baseline information on access to and utilization of RH services and unmet needs among youths living in resource-limited, suburban communities of Mandalay City, Myanmar. Methods A community-based, cross-sectional study was conducted in all resource-limited, suburban communities of Mandalay City, Myanmar. A total of 444 randomly selected youths aged between 15 and 24 years were interviewed for three main outcomes, namely accessibility to and utilization of RH services and youth's unmet needs for these services. Factors associated with these outcomes were determined using multivariate logistic regression. Results Although geographical accessibility was high (79.3%, financial accessibility was low (19.1% resulting in a low overall accessibility (34.5% to RH services. Two-thirds of youths used some kind of RH services at least once in the past. Levels of unmet needs for sexual RH information, family planning, maternal care and HIV testing were 62.6%, 31.9%, 38.7% and 56.2%, respectively. Youths living in the south or south-western suburbs, having a deceased parent, never being married or never exposed to mass media were less likely to access RH services. Being a young adult, current student, working as a waste recycler, having ever experienced a sexual relationship, ever being married, ever exposed to mass media, having a high knowledge of RH services and providers or a high level of accessibility to RH services significantly increased the likelihood of utilization of those services. In addition to youths’ socio-demographic characteristics, exposure to mass media, norm of peer exposure and knowledge

  8. Faith in the 'cultural fix': limits to a planned cultural change program in a rural health service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahony, K

    2000-01-01

    This paper, by way of a narrative on the author's participation, explains the limits to a planned cultural change program in a large rural health service. Cultural change was identified by the CEO as crucial to the success of a major restructuring of the service, and the attitudes and beliefs of the 'old guard' were considered to be constraining progress. Advocates of cultural integration contend that shared core values across an organisation can overcome such obstacles. This is a matter of faith. An application of Habermasian theory suggests that organisational leaders are drawing on traditional/religious beliefs and practices to bolster their visions and missions at a time of motivational crisis. Though a need for cultural change in some sectors of the health services is acknowledged, the particular challenges in attempting to manipulate the traditionally embedded culture and sub-cultures of the health services is highlighted. An analysis of some of the ideas and beliefs surrounding authority, deference and discipline is undertaken. It is argued that the ritualistic reinforcement of these beliefs and the reproduction of sub-cultures along material and ideal interests militate against the implementation of objectives delineated by the CEO. While cultural analysis has revealed the irrational face of organisations and can bring to conscious awareness the taken-for-granted beliefs which inform behaviour, the cultural integrationists have a further agenda. They aim to manipulate organisational culture to subtly control employees' beliefs and hence behaviour. Cultural control is a covert form of top down authority that can be just as directive and centralizing as bureaucratic control. The author also maintains that cultural change programs alone cannot fix a problem that arose in the macro-economic sphere: a chronic lack of resources ever since the state responded to the economic crisis by cutting funds to health and welfare services.

  9. 78 FR 70414 - Pricing for the 2013 United States Mint Limited Edition Silver Proof SetTM

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-11-25

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY United States Mint Pricing for the 2013 United States Mint Limited Edition Silver Proof Set TM AGENCY: United States Mint, Department of the Treasury. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The United States Mint is announcing a price of $139.95 for the 2013 United States Mint Limited...

  10. Below regulatory concern standards: The limits of state and local authority

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silverman, D.J.

    1990-01-01

    The paper discusses: (1) the scope of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's authority to develop and implement below regulatory concern or BRC standards; and (2) the limitations on the legal authority of states and local governments to create impediments to full implementation of such standards. The paper demonstrates that the NRC is acting well within its statutory authority in developing BRC regulations and guidelines, and that the ability of state and local governments to impede generators' use of those regulations and guidelines on the basis of legal or regulatory initiatives is substantially circumscribed. While some generators may be reluctant, as a result of political factors, to utilize BRC standards, the decision whether or not to use such standards should not be made without careful consideration of the applicable legal and regulatory limitations on state and local authority

  11. Service Modeling for Service Engineering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shimomura, Yoshiki; Tomiyama, Tetsuo

    Intensification of service and knowledge contents within product life cycles is considered crucial for dematerialization, in particular, to design optimal product-service systems from the viewpoint of environmentally conscious design and manufacturing in advanced post industrial societies. In addition to the environmental limitations, we are facing social limitations which include limitations of markets to accept increasing numbers of mass-produced artifacts and such environmental and social limitations are restraining economic growth. To attack and remove these problems, we need to reconsider the current mass production paradigm and to make products have more added values largely from knowledge and service contents to compensate volume reduction under the concept of dematerialization. Namely, dematerialization of products needs to enrich service contents. However, service was mainly discussed within marketing and has been mostly neglected within traditional engineering. Therefore, we need new engineering methods to look at services, rather than just functions, called "Service Engineering." To establish service engineering, this paper proposes a modeling technique of service.

  12. 39 CFR 111.2 - Availability of the Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 39 Postal Service 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Availability of the Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual. 111.2 Section 111.2 Postal Service UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE POST OFFICE SERVICES [DOMESTIC MAIL] GENERAL INFORMATION ON POSTAL SERVICE § 111.2...

  13. A Model for Service Life Control of Selected Device Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zieja Mariusz

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a way of determining distribution of limit state exceedence time by a diagnostic parameter which determines accuracy of maintaining zero state. For calculations it was assumed that the diagnostic parameter is deviation from nominal value (zero state. Change of deviation value occurs as a result of destructive processes which occur during service. For estimation of deviation increasing rate in probabilistic sense, was used a difference equation from which, after transformation, Fokker-Planck differential equation was obtained [4, 11]. A particular solution of the equation is deviation increasing rate density function which was used for determining exceedance probability of limit state. The so-determined probability was then used to determine density function of limit state exceedance time, by increasing deviation. Having at disposal the density function of limit state exceedance time one determined service life of a system of maladjustment. In the end, a numerical example based on operational data of selected aircraft [weapon] sights was presented. The elaborated method can be also applied to determining residual life of shipboard devices whose technical state is determined on the basis of analysis of values of diagnostic parameters.

  14. An Energy-Based Limit State Function for Estimation of Structural Reliability in Shock Environments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael A. Guthrie

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available limit state function is developed for the estimation of structural reliability in shock environments. This limit state function uses peak modal strain energies to characterize environmental severity and modal strain energies at failure to characterize the structural capacity. The Hasofer-Lind reliability index is briefly reviewed and its computation for the energy-based limit state function is discussed. Applications to two degree of freedom mass-spring systems and to a simple finite element model are considered. For these examples, computation of the reliability index requires little effort beyond a modal analysis, but still accounts for relevant uncertainties in both the structure and environment. For both examples, the reliability index is observed to agree well with the results of Monte Carlo analysis. In situations where fast, qualitative comparison of several candidate designs is required, the reliability index based on the proposed limit state function provides an attractive metric which can be used to compare and control reliability.

  15. Users' Satisfaction with Library Services: A Case Study of Delta State University Library

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ikolo, Violet E.

    2015-01-01

    The study focused on users' satisfaction with library services at the Delta State University main Library, Abraka, Delta State. The objective was to find out if users are satisfied with the services, facilities, the library environment, information sources and staff of the library. Using the descriptive survey design, the population for the study…

  16. Options for Optimal Coverage of Free C-Section Services for Poor Mothers in Indian State of Gujarat: Location Allocation Analysis Using GIS.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kranti Suresh Vora

    Full Text Available Gujarat, a western state of India, has seen a steep rise in the proportion of institutional deliveries over the last decade. However, there has been a limited access to cesarean section (C-Section deliveries for complicated obstetric cases especially for poor rural women. C-section is a lifesaving intervention that can prevent both maternal and perinatal mortality. Poor women bear a disproportionate burden of maternal mortality, and lack of access to C-section, especially for these women, is an important contributor for high maternal and perinatal mortality in resource limited settings. To improve access for this underserved population in the context of inadequate public provision of emergency obstetric services, the state government of Gujarat initiated a public private partnership program called "Chiranjeevi Yojana" (CY in 2005 to increase the number of facilities providing free C-section services. This study aimed to analyze the current availability of these services in three districts of Gujarat and to identify the best locations for additional service centres to optimize access to free C-section services using Geographic Information System technology.Supply and demand for obstetric care were calculated using secondary data from sources such as Census and primary data from cross-sectional facility survey. The study is unique in using primary data from facilities, which was collected in 2012-13. Information on obstetric beds and functionality of facilities to calculate supply was collected using pretested questionnaire by trained researchers after obtaining written consent from the participating facilities. Census data of population and birth rates for the study districts was used for demand calculations. Location-allocation model of ArcGIS 10 was used for analyses.Currently, about 50 to 84% of populations in all three study districts have access to free C-section facilities within a 20km radius. The model suggests that about 80-96% of the

  17. Options for Optimal Coverage of Free C-Section Services for Poor Mothers in Indian State of Gujarat: Location Allocation Analysis Using GIS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vora, Kranti Suresh; Yasobant, Sandul; Sengupta, Raja; De Costa, Ayesha; Upadhyay, Ashish; Mavalankar, Dileep V

    2015-01-01

    Gujarat, a western state of India, has seen a steep rise in the proportion of institutional deliveries over the last decade. However, there has been a limited access to cesarean section (C-Section) deliveries for complicated obstetric cases especially for poor rural women. C-section is a lifesaving intervention that can prevent both maternal and perinatal mortality. Poor women bear a disproportionate burden of maternal mortality, and lack of access to C-section, especially for these women, is an important contributor for high maternal and perinatal mortality in resource limited settings. To improve access for this underserved population in the context of inadequate public provision of emergency obstetric services, the state government of Gujarat initiated a public private partnership program called "Chiranjeevi Yojana" (CY) in 2005 to increase the number of facilities providing free C-section services. This study aimed to analyze the current availability of these services in three districts of Gujarat and to identify the best locations for additional service centres to optimize access to free C-section services using Geographic Information System technology. Supply and demand for obstetric care were calculated using secondary data from sources such as Census and primary data from cross-sectional facility survey. The study is unique in using primary data from facilities, which was collected in 2012-13. Information on obstetric beds and functionality of facilities to calculate supply was collected using pretested questionnaire by trained researchers after obtaining written consent from the participating facilities. Census data of population and birth rates for the study districts was used for demand calculations. Location-allocation model of ArcGIS 10 was used for analyses. Currently, about 50 to 84% of populations in all three study districts have access to free C-section facilities within a 20km radius. The model suggests that about 80-96% of the population can be

  18. Neighborhood scale quantification of ecosystem goods and services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ecosystem goods and services are those ecological structures and functions that humans can directly relate to their state of well-being. Ecosystem goods and services include, but are not limited to, a sufficient fresh water supply, fertile lands to produce agricultural products, ...

  19. 75 FR 66054 - Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in State and Local Government Services, Public...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-27

    ... Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in State and Local Government Services, Public Accommodations and in... of Disability; Accessibility of Web Information and Services of State and Local Government Entities and Public Accommodations; Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in State and Local Government...

  20. Limited access to special education services for school-aged children with developmental delay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Twardzik, Erica; Smit, Ellen; Hatfield, Bridget; Odden, Michelle C; Dixon-Ibarra, Alicia; MacDonald, Megan

    2018-01-01

    Current policy in Oregon limits eligibility of children diagnosed with developmental delay for school-based services. Due to eligibility definitions, children with developmental delay may face additional barriers transitioning from early intervention/early childhood special education into school-based special education services. Examine the relationship between enrollment in school-based special education programs given a change in primary disability diagnosis. Logistic regression models were fit for children who enrolled in early intervention/early childhood special education services with a primary disability diagnosis of developmental delay and changed primary disability diagnosis before third grade (n=5076). Odds of enrollment in future special education were greater in children with a change in primary disability diagnosis after the age of five in comparison to children that had a change in primary disability diagnosis before the age of five, while adjusting for demographic characteristics (adjusted odds ratio: 2.37, 95% CI 1.92, 2.92). Results suggest that children who are diagnosed with a developmental delay and exit early childhood special education due to maximum age of eligibility are more likely to enroll in special education compared to children without a gap in service access. Gaps in service access during early development are associated with the need for supportive services later on in life. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. State variable participation in the limit cycle of induction motor

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    State variable participation in the limit cycle of induction ... 2National Institute of Technical Teachers' Training and Research, Kolkata 700 106, India ..... the phase plot shown in figure 10 would be very useful as it shows infinite loops, meaning.

  2. Governance of smart living service platforms : State-ofthe-art and the need for collective action

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nikayin, F.; De Reuver, M.

    2012-01-01

    Today’s smart home concepts are no longer limited to home automation, but increasingly involve smart health, energy, security and entertainment services. Such smart living services are typically offered through sector-specific service platforms that are rarely interoperable and not fully

  3. 2000-2010 Annual State-Scale Service and Domain Scores for Forecasting Well-Being from Service-Based Decisions

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — 2000-2010 Annual State-Scale Service and Domain scores used to support the approach for forecasting EPA's Human Well-Being Index. A modeling approach was developed...

  4. Ecosystem services provided by pacific NW Estuaries: State of knowledge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coastal regions in the United States are rapidly developing areas, with increasing urbanization and growing populations. Estuarine and nearshore coastal marine waters provide valuable ecosystem services to resident and transient human communities. In the Pacific Northwest (PNW)...

  5. 12 CFR 303.15 - Certain limited liability companies deemed incorporated under State law.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Certain limited liability companies deemed... liability companies deemed incorporated under State law. (a) For purposes of the definition of “State bank... liability company (LLC) under the law of any State is deemed to be “incorporated” under the law of the State...

  6. Experiences with strain based limit state design in The Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gresnigt, A.M.; Foeken, R.J. van

    1996-01-01

    Limit state design differs from conventional design methods in that each failure mode is specifically addressed (e.g. burst, collapse, local buckling, fracture due to insufficient strain capacity of the pipe wall, fatigue). Based on an extensive theoretical and experimental research programme,

  7. State Public Health Enabling Authorities: Results of a Fundamental Activities Assessment Examining Core and Essential Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoss, Aila; Menon, Akshara; Corso, Liza

    2016-01-01

    Context Public health enabling authorities establish the legal foundation for financing, organizing, and delivering public health services. State laws vary in terms of the content, depth, and breadth of these fundamental public health activities. Given this variance, the Institute of Medicine has identified state public health laws as an area that requires further examination. To respond to this call for further examination, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Public Health Law Program conducted a fundamental activities legal assessment on state public health laws. Objective The goal of the legal assessment was to examine state laws referencing frameworks representing public health department fundamental activities (ie, core and essential services) in an effort to identify, catalog, and describe enabling authorities of state governmental public health systems. Design In 2013, Public Health Law Program staff compiled a list of state statutes and regulations referencing different commonly-recognized public health frameworks of fundamental activities. The legal assessment included state fundamental activities laws available on WestlawNext as of July 2013. The results related to the 10 essential public health services and the 3 core public health functions were confirmed and updated in June 2016. Results Eighteen states reference commonly-recognized frameworks of fundamental activities in their laws. Thirteen states have listed the 10 essential public health services in their laws. Eight of these states have also referenced the 3 core public health functions in their laws. Five states reference only the core public health functions. Conclusions Several states reference fundamental activities in their state laws, particularly through use of the essential services framework. Further work is needed to capture the public health laws and practices of states that may be performing fundamental activities but without reference to a common framework. PMID

  8. State Public Health Enabling Authorities: Results of a Fundamental Activities Assessment Examining Core and Essential Services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoss, Aila; Menon, Akshara; Corso, Liza

    2016-01-01

    Public health enabling authorities establish the legal foundation for financing, organizing, and delivering public health services. State laws vary in terms of the content, depth, and breadth of these fundamental public health activities. Given this variance, the Institute of Medicine has identified state public health laws as an area that requires further examination. To respond to this call for further examination, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Public Health Law Program conducted a fundamental activities legal assessment on state public health laws. The goal of the legal assessment was to examine state laws referencing frameworks representing public health department fundamental activities (ie, core and essential services) in an effort to identify, catalog, and describe enabling authorities of state governmental public health systems. In 2013, Public Health Law Program staff compiled a list of state statutes and regulations referencing different commonly-recognized public health frameworks of fundamental activities. The legal assessment included state fundamental activities laws available on WestlawNext as of July 2013. The results related to the 10 essential public health services and the 3 core public health functions were confirmed and updated in June 2016. Eighteen states reference commonly-recognized frameworks of fundamental activities in their laws. Thirteen states have listed the 10 essential public health services in their laws. Eight of these states have also referenced the 3 core public health functions in their laws. Five states reference only the core public health functions. Several states reference fundamental activities in their state laws, particularly through use of the essential services framework. Further work is needed to capture the public health laws and practices of states that may be performing fundamental activities but without reference to a common framework.

  9. 76 FR 26341 - Medicaid Program; Methods for Assuring Access to Covered Medicaid Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-05-06

    ... as part of their broader efforts to ``assure that payments are consistent with efficiency, economy... but not limited to, the beneficiaries' health care needs and characteristics, State or local service... care case management). Increasingly, States are developing service delivery models that emphasize...

  10. 76 FR 66937 - Privacy Act of 1974; Department of Homeland Security/United States Secret Service-003 Non...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-10-28

    ... 1974; Department of Homeland Security/United States Secret Service--003 Non-Criminal Investigation... Security/United States Secret Service--003 Non-Criminal Investigation Information System.'' As a result of... Secret Service, 245 Murray Lane SW., Building T-5, Washington, DC 20223. For privacy issues please...

  11. Potential of vehicle-to-grid ancillary services considering the uncertainties in plug-in electric vehicle availability and service/localization limitations in distribution grids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sarabi, Siyamak; Davigny, Arnaud; Courtecuisse, Vincent; Riffonneau, Yann; Robyns, Benoît

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • The availability uncertainty of PEVs are modelled using Gaussian mixture model. • Interdependency of stochastic variables are modelled using copula function. • V2G bidding capacity is calculated using Free Pattern search optimization method. • Localization limitation is considered for V2G service potential assessment. • Competitive services for fleet of V2G-enabled PEVs are identified using fuzzy sets. - Abstract: The aim of the paper is to propose an approach for statistical assessment of the potential of plug-in electric vehicles (PEV) for vehicle-to-grid (V2G) ancillary services, where it focuses on PEVs doing daily home-work commuting. In this approach, the possible ancillary services (A/S) for each PEV fleet in terms of its available V2G power (AVP) and flexible intervals are identified. The flexible interval is calculated using a powerful stochastic global optimization technique so-called “Free Pattern Search” (FPS). A probabilistic method is also proposed to quantify the impacts of PEV’s availability uncertainty using the Gaussian mixture model (GMM), and interdependency of stochastic variables on AVP of each fleet thanks to a multivariate modeling with Copula function. Each fleet is analyzed based on its aggregated PEV numbers at different level of distribution grid, in order to satisfy the ancillary services localization limitation. A case study using the proposed approach evaluates the real potential in Niort, a city in west of France. In fact, by using the proposed approach an aggregator can analyze the V2G potential of PEVs under its contract.

  12. 76 FR 29783 - Agency Information Collection: Comment Request; The State of Ecosystem Services Implementation...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-05-23

    ... services projects and the state-of-the-art processes through which projects are implemented. The survey will gather information concerning: Methods used in ecosystem services projects, motivations for...

  13. 76 FR 65155 - Fisheries Off West Coast States; Highly Migratory Species Fisheries; Swordfish Retention Limits

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-10-20

    ...; Swordfish Retention Limits AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and... consistent with regulations implementing the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council's Pacific Pelagics...

  14. Erratum to "Quantum Limits of Eisenstein Series and Scattering States''

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petridis, Y.N.; Raulf, N.; Risager, Morten S.

    2013-01-01

    We identify the quantum limits of scattering states for the modular surface. This is obtained through the study of quantum measures of non-holomorphic Eisenstein series away from the critical line. We provide a range of stability for the quantum unique ergodicity theorem of Luo and Sarnak...

  15. Economic and Social Potential of Family-supporting Services, Limits and Challenges

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter Thijs

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Due to the increase of the economic pressure on households, it is increasingly more difficult to balance family life and economic activity. Reasons for this evolution can be the increased labour market participation of women, the ageing of the population to name a few. Within the EU, different systems to offer assistance in creating a balanced social and economically active life have been established in numerous countries. However, the aims, results and general scope of these national policies differ.The main focus of this paper will be the Belgian situation, i.e. the voucher system (services cheques. Starting with a general view of the reasons of existence of family-support services, followed by the different support services policies offered in various European countries, the Belgian situation will be discussed.The voucher system in Belgium has encountered an explosive boom which brings unexpected results and side effects. These affect the country’s social economical system. The paper discusses the evolution of the system. What are the reasons for the unexpected success? What are the economic and social consequences for a modern active welfare state, can growth be limitless? The paper will attempt to provide answers on these questions raised.

  16. Multiple Case Studies of Public Library Systems in New York State: Service Decision-Making Processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ren, Xiaoai

    2012-01-01

    This research examined the functions and roles of public library systems in New York State and the services they provide for individual libraries and the public. The dissertation further studied the service decision-making processes at three selected New York State cooperative public library systems. Public library systems have played an important…

  17. Agricultural Extension: Farm Extension Services in Australia, Britain and the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Donald B.

    By analyzing the scope and structure of agricultural extension services in Australia, Great Britain, and the United States, this work attempts to set guidelines for measuring progress and guiding extension efforts. Extension training, agricultural policy, and activities of national, international, state, and provincial bodies are examined. The…

  18. IDENTITY THEFT SERVICES: Services Offer Some Benefits but Are Limited in Preventing Fraud

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-03-01

    17-254 Identity Theft Services standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to... audited financial statements. Page 34 GAO-17-254 Identity Theft Services Although the websites of many identity theft services ...reasonable assurance that significant decisions on the use of identity theft services are appropriately documented. We provided a draft of this

  19. Robustness of Majorana bound states in the short-junction limit

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sticlet, D.C.; Nijholt, B.; Akhmerov, A.R.

    2017-01-01

    We study the effects of strong coupling between a superconductor and a semiconductor nanowire on the creation of the Majorana bound states, when the quasiparticle dwell time in the normal part of the nanowire is much shorter than the inverse superconducting gap. This "short-junction" limit is

  20. Limits to Decentralization in Mozambique: Leadership, Politics and Local Government Capacities for Service Delivery

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    A.P.J. Machohe (Antonio)

    2011-01-01

    textabstractMozambique has been a centralized State since its independence in 1975. During this time, local government has depended on the Central Government and has lacked autonomy in both local policy decisions and resource management in addition to the complete failure of effective local services

  1. 42 CFR 456.6 - Review by State medical agency of appropriateness and quality of services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... and quality of services. 456.6 Section 456.6 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES... Provisions § 456.6 Review by State medical agency of appropriateness and quality of services. (a) The... professional health personnel of the appropriateness and quality of Medicaid services. (b) The purpose of this...

  2. STATE AND EFFICIENCY OF MANAGEMENT OF AGROECOSYSTEM SERVICES – THE CASE OF BULGARIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    HRABRIN BACHEV

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper incorporates New Institutional Economics and analyzes the state and efficiency of management of agro-ecosystem services in Bulgaria. Firstly, it presents framework of analyses of management of agro-ecosystem services including: definition of agroecosystem services and its management; specification of management needs and spectrum of governing modes (institutions, market, private, public, hybrid; assessment of efficiency of different form of management in terms of potential to protect eco-rights and investments, assure socially desirable level of agro-ecosystem services, minimize costs, coordinate and stimulate eco-activities, meet preferences and reconcile conflicts of related agents. Secondly, it identifies and assesses the management of agro-ecosystem services in Bulgaria. Transition and EU integration have brought about significant changes in the state and management of agroecosystems services in the country. Newly evolved market, private and public governance have led to a significant improvement of a part of agro-ecosystems services introducing modern ecostandards and public support, enhancing environmental stewardship, disintensifyingproduction, recovering landscape and traditional productions, diversifying quality, products,and services. At the same time, the novel eco-management is associated with new challenges such as unsustainable exploitation, lost biodiversity, land degradation, water and air contamination. Moreover, implementation of EU common policies would have no desired impact on agro-ecosystem services unless special measures are taken to improve management of public programs, and extend public support to dominating small-scale and subsistence farms.

  3. 34 CFR 692.30 - How does a State administer its community service-learning job program?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ...-learning job program? 692.30 Section 692.30 Education Regulations of the Offices of the Department of... Administer Its Community Service-Learning Job Program? § 692.30 How does a State administer its community service-learning job program? (a)(1) Each year, a State may use up to 20 percent of its allotment for a...

  4. 77 FR 56674 - United States v. Humana Inc. and Arcadian Management Services, Inc.; Public Comment and Response...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-09-13

    ... students in the United States. The AMA's comment states that: MA [Medicare Advantage] plans in competitive... Services, Inc.; Public Comment and Response on Proposed Final Judgment Pursuant to the Antitrust Procedures... on the proposed Final Judgment in United States v. Humana Inc. and Arcadian Management Services, Inc...

  5. 33 CFR 328.5 - Changes in limits of waters of the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... OF THE ARMY, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE DEFINITION OF WATERS OF THE UNITED STATES § 328.5 Changes in... drainage may remove an area from waters of the United States. Man-made changes may affect the limits of...

  6. 75 FR 409 - Privacy Act of 1974; United States Citizenship and Immigration Services-010 Asylum Information...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-05

    ... 1974; United States Citizenship and Immigration Services--010 Asylum Information and Pre-Screening... system of records to the Department of Homeland Security's inventory, entitled Unites States Citizenship... Citizenship and Immigration Services (202-272-1663), 20 Massachusetts Avenue, NW., 3rd Floor, Washington, DC...

  7. Dynamic and quantitative method of analyzing service consistency evolution based on extended hierarchical finite state automata.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Linjun; Tang, Jun; Ling, Yunxiang; Li, Benxian

    2014-01-01

    This paper is concerned with the dynamic evolution analysis and quantitative measurement of primary factors that cause service inconsistency in service-oriented distributed simulation applications (SODSA). Traditional methods are mostly qualitative and empirical, and they do not consider the dynamic disturbances among factors in service's evolution behaviors such as producing, publishing, calling, and maintenance. Moreover, SODSA are rapidly evolving in terms of large-scale, reusable, compositional, pervasive, and flexible features, which presents difficulties in the usage of traditional analysis methods. To resolve these problems, a novel dynamic evolution model extended hierarchical service-finite state automata (EHS-FSA) is constructed based on finite state automata (FSA), which formally depict overall changing processes of service consistency states. And also the service consistency evolution algorithms (SCEAs) based on EHS-FSA are developed to quantitatively assess these impact factors. Experimental results show that the bad reusability (17.93% on average) is the biggest influential factor, the noncomposition of atomic services (13.12%) is the second biggest one, and the service version's confusion (1.2%) is the smallest one. Compared with previous qualitative analysis, SCEAs present good effectiveness and feasibility. This research can guide the engineers of service consistency technologies toward obtaining a higher level of consistency in SODSA.

  8. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT health services in the United States: Origins, evolution, and contemporary landscape.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander J Martos

    Full Text Available LGBT community organizations in the United States have been providing health services since at least the 1970s. However, available explanations for the origins of LGBT health services do not sufficiently explain why health in particular has been so closely and consistently linked to LGBT activism. Little is also known regarding how LGBT health services may have evolved over time with the growing scientific understanding of LGBT health needs.This study begins with a review of the early intersections of sexuality and health that led to an LGBT health movement in the United States, as well as the evolution of LGBT health services over time. Informed by this, an asset map displaying the location and types of services provided by "LGBT community health centers" today in relation to the population density of LGBT people was explored. An online search of LGBT community health centers was conducted between September-December, 2015. Organizational details, including physical addresses and the services provided, were confirmed via an online database of federally-registered non-profit organizations and organizational websites. The locations and types of services provided were analyzed and presented alongside county-level census data of same-sex households using geographic information system (GIS software ArcGIS for Desktop.LGBT community health centers are concentrated within urban hubs and coastal states, and are more likely to be present in areas with a high density of same-sex couples. LGBT community health centers do not operate in 13 states. The most common health services provided are wellness programs, HIV/STI services, and counseling services.LGBT community health centers have adapted over time to meet the needs of LGBT people. However, significant gaps in service remain in the United States, and LGBT community health centers may require significant transformations going forward in order to continue serving LGBT people.

  9. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) health services in the United States: Origins, evolution, and contemporary landscape.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martos, Alexander J; Wilson, Patrick A; Meyer, Ilan H

    2017-01-01

    LGBT community organizations in the United States have been providing health services since at least the 1970s. However, available explanations for the origins of LGBT health services do not sufficiently explain why health in particular has been so closely and consistently linked to LGBT activism. Little is also known regarding how LGBT health services may have evolved over time with the growing scientific understanding of LGBT health needs. This study begins with a review of the early intersections of sexuality and health that led to an LGBT health movement in the United States, as well as the evolution of LGBT health services over time. Informed by this, an asset map displaying the location and types of services provided by "LGBT community health centers" today in relation to the population density of LGBT people was explored. An online search of LGBT community health centers was conducted between September-December, 2015. Organizational details, including physical addresses and the services provided, were confirmed via an online database of federally-registered non-profit organizations and organizational websites. The locations and types of services provided were analyzed and presented alongside county-level census data of same-sex households using geographic information system (GIS) software ArcGIS for Desktop. LGBT community health centers are concentrated within urban hubs and coastal states, and are more likely to be present in areas with a high density of same-sex couples. LGBT community health centers do not operate in 13 states. The most common health services provided are wellness programs, HIV/STI services, and counseling services. LGBT community health centers have adapted over time to meet the needs of LGBT people. However, significant gaps in service remain in the United States, and LGBT community health centers may require significant transformations going forward in order to continue serving LGBT people.

  10. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) health services in the United States: Origins, evolution, and contemporary landscape

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, Patrick A.; Meyer, Ilan H.

    2017-01-01

    Background LGBT community organizations in the United States have been providing health services since at least the 1970s. However, available explanations for the origins of LGBT health services do not sufficiently explain why health in particular has been so closely and consistently linked to LGBT activism. Little is also known regarding how LGBT health services may have evolved over time with the growing scientific understanding of LGBT health needs. Methods This study begins with a review of the early intersections of sexuality and health that led to an LGBT health movement in the United States, as well as the evolution of LGBT health services over time. Informed by this, an asset map displaying the location and types of services provided by “LGBT community health centers” today in relation to the population density of LGBT people was explored. An online search of LGBT community health centers was conducted between September–December, 2015. Organizational details, including physical addresses and the services provided, were confirmed via an online database of federally-registered non-profit organizations and organizational websites. The locations and types of services provided were analyzed and presented alongside county-level census data of same-sex households using geographic information system (GIS) software ArcGIS for Desktop. Findings LGBT community health centers are concentrated within urban hubs and coastal states, and are more likely to be present in areas with a high density of same-sex couples. LGBT community health centers do not operate in 13 states. The most common health services provided are wellness programs, HIV/STI services, and counseling services. Conclusions LGBT community health centers have adapted over time to meet the needs of LGBT people. However, significant gaps in service remain in the United States, and LGBT community health centers may require significant transformations going forward in order to continue serving LGBT people

  11. Delivery of public services in ethnic minority states: Gender equality ...

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

    Delivery of public services in ethnic minority states: Gender equality and decentralization in Myanmar. In 2017, to sustain Myanmar's democratic transition, IDRC and Global Affairs Canada ... and staff from the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs (Asia ... Ideas from the global climate change hotspot research.

  12. Investigation of Limit States Specified for Reinforced Concrete Column Members in TEC–2007

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Umut HASGÜL

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available In this study, the deformation based limit states stipulated for reinforced concrete members in the Turkish Earthquake Code (TEC were experimentally investigated. Thus four RC cantilever columns which have low concrete compressive strengths and have not adequate confinement, were subjected to constant axial load and cyclic lateral load history. In the study, firstly, the strain values representing the damage limits were converted to top of the column lateral displacements by using fundamentals of structural mechanics. Subsequently the column damages corresponding to the displacement demands were observed, hence limit states were evaluated. After conducting all column tests, it was noted that no column damage was observed for the immediate occupancy (IO performance level defined in the code. For the life safety (LS and collapse prevention (CP performance levels, though somewhat residual deformations occurred on the critical regions, the column members can pretty much sustain their lateral load capacities. It was also observed for all columns that significant damages and strength losses occurred beyond the collapse prevention level. The results of experimental study indicate that the evaluation procedure in the TEC is still in good relationship with the limit states even if the columns have not adequate compressive strength and confinement.

  13. Pareto-Optimal Evaluation of Ultimate Limit States in Offshore Wind Turbine Structural Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael Muskulus

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The ultimate capacity of support structures is checked with extreme loads. This is straightforward when the limit state equations depend on a single load component, and it has become common to report maxima for each load component. However, if more than one load component is influential, e.g., both axial force and bending moments, it is not straightforward how to define an extreme load. The combination of univariate maxima can be too conservative, and many different combinations of load components can result in the worst value of the limit state equations. The use of contemporaneous load vectors is typically non-conservative. Therefore, in practice, limit state checks are done for each possible load vector, from each time step of a simulation. This is not feasible when performing reliability assessments and structural optimization, where additional, time-consuming computations are involved for each load vector. We therefore propose to use Pareto-optimal loads, which are a small set of loads that together represent all possible worst case scenarios. Simulations with two reference wind turbines show that this approach can be very useful for jacket structures, whereas the design of monopiles is often governed by the bending moment only. Even in this case, the approach might be useful when approaching the structural limits during optimization.

  14. Dynamic and Quantitative Method of Analyzing Service Consistency Evolution Based on Extended Hierarchical Finite State Automata

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Linjun Fan

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper is concerned with the dynamic evolution analysis and quantitative measurement of primary factors that cause service inconsistency in service-oriented distributed simulation applications (SODSA. Traditional methods are mostly qualitative and empirical, and they do not consider the dynamic disturbances among factors in service’s evolution behaviors such as producing, publishing, calling, and maintenance. Moreover, SODSA are rapidly evolving in terms of large-scale, reusable, compositional, pervasive, and flexible features, which presents difficulties in the usage of traditional analysis methods. To resolve these problems, a novel dynamic evolution model extended hierarchical service-finite state automata (EHS-FSA is constructed based on finite state automata (FSA, which formally depict overall changing processes of service consistency states. And also the service consistency evolution algorithms (SCEAs based on EHS-FSA are developed to quantitatively assess these impact factors. Experimental results show that the bad reusability (17.93% on average is the biggest influential factor, the noncomposition of atomic services (13.12% is the second biggest one, and the service version’s confusion (1.2% is the smallest one. Compared with previous qualitative analysis, SCEAs present good effectiveness and feasibility. This research can guide the engineers of service consistency technologies toward obtaining a higher level of consistency in SODSA.

  15. Projective limits of state spaces II. Quantum formalism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lanéry, Suzanne; Thiemann, Thomas

    2017-06-01

    In this series of papers, we investigate the projective framework initiated by Kijowski (1977) and Okołów (2009, 2014, 2013), which describes the states of a quantum theory as projective families of density matrices. A short reading guide to the series can be found in Lanéry (2016). After discussing the formalism at the classical level in a first paper (Lanéry, 2017), the present second paper is devoted to the quantum theory. In particular, we inspect in detail how such quantum projective state spaces relate to inductive limit Hilbert spaces and to infinite tensor product constructions (Lanéry, 2016, subsection 3.1) [1]. Regarding the quantization of classical projective structures into quantum ones, we extend the results by Okołów (2013), that were set up in the context of linear configuration spaces, to configuration spaces given by simply-connected Lie groups, and to holomorphic quantization of complex phase spaces (Lanéry, 2016, subsection 2.2) [1].

  16. Perception of quality of maternal healthcare services among women utilising antenatal services in selected primary health facilities in Anambra State, Southeast Nigeria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Emelumadu, Obiageli F.; Onyeonoro, Ugochukwu Uchenna; Ukegbu, Andrew Ugwunna; Ezeama, Nkiru N.; Ifeadike, Chigozie Ozoemena; Okezie, Obasi Kanu

    2014-01-01

    Background: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study aimed at assessing antenatal care service attendees’ perception of quality of maternal healthcare (MHC) services in Anambra State, southeast Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A total of 310 pregnant women utilising antenatal care (ANC) services in three purposively selected primary health centres (PHCs) in rural communities in Anambra State were studied. Reponses were elicited from the participants selected consecutively over a 4-month period, using a pre-tested, semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire on socio-demographic characteristics, utilisation and perception of MHC services. Data collected were analysed using SPSS version 17. Results: Findings showed that utilisation of facility for both antenatal (97.0%; 95% CI, 94.4–98.4%) and natal services (92.7%; 95% CI 89.2–95.2%) were quite high. Generally, most of the women were satisfied with MHC services (89.7%). Most of them were satisfied with the staff attitude (85.1%), waiting time (84.1%) and cost of services (79.5%). Being ≥30 years (X2 = 4.61, P = 0.032), married (X2 = 9.70, P = 0.008) and multiparous (X2 = 9.14, P = 0.028), as well as utilisation of formal health facility for antenatal (X2 = 26.94, P = 0.000) and natal (X2 = 33.42, P = 0.000) services were associated with satisfaction with maternal health services. Conclusions: The study showed high level of satisfaction with quality of maternal health services among antenatal attendees and highlights the need to strengthen interventions that increase uptake of formal MHC services. PMID:24791050

  17. Homogeneous axisymmetric model with a limitting stiff equation of state

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Korkina, M.P.; Martynenko, V.G.

    1976-01-01

    A solution is obtained for Einstein's equations in which all metric coefficients are time functions for a limiting stiff equation of the substance state. Thr solution describes a homogeneous cosmological model with cylindrical symmetry. It is shown that the same metrics can be induced by a massless scalar only time-dependent field. Analysis of this solution is presented

  18. Loss-induced limits to phase measurement precision with maximally entangled states

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rubin, Mark A.; Kaushik, Sumanth

    2007-01-01

    The presence of loss limits the precision of an approach to phase measurement using maximally entangled states, also referred to as NOON states. A calculation using a simple beam-splitter model of loss shows that, for all nonzero values L of the loss, phase measurement precision degrades with increasing number N of entangled photons for N sufficiently large. For L above a critical value of approximately 0.785, phase measurement precision degrades with increasing N for all values of N. For L near zero, phase measurement precision improves with increasing N down to a limiting precision of approximately 1.018L radians, attained at N approximately equal to 2.218/L, and degrades as N increases beyond this value. Phase measurement precision with multiple measurements and a fixed total number of photons N T is also examined. For L above a critical value of approximately 0.586, the ratio of phase measurement precision attainable with NOON states to that attainable by conventional methods using unentangled coherent states degrades with increasing N, the number of entangled photons employed in a single measurement, for all values of N. For L near zero this ratio is optimized by using approximately N=1.279/L entangled photons in each measurement, yielding a precision of approximately 1.340√(L/N T ) radians

  19. Constitutional limits on federal legislation practically compelling medical employment: Wong v Commonwealth; Selim v Professional Services Review Committee.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faunce, Thomas

    2009-10-01

    A recent decision by the High Court of Australia (Wong v Commonwealth; Selim v Professional Services Review Committee (2009) 236 CLR 573) (the PSR case) has not only clarified the scope of the Australian constitutional prohibition on "any form of civil conscription" in relation to federal legislation concerning medical or dental services (s 51xxiiiA), but has highlighted its importance as a great constitutional guarantee ensuring the mixed State-federal and public-private nature of medical service delivery in Australia. Previous decisions of the High Court have clarified that the prohibition does not prevent federal laws regulating the manner in which medical services are provided. The PSR case determined that the anti-overservicing provisions directed at bulk-billing general practitioners under Pt VAA of the Health Insurance Act 1973 (Cth) did not offend the prohibition. Importantly, the High Court also indicated that the s 51(xxiiiA) civil conscription guarantee should be construed widely and that it would invalidate federal laws requiring providers of medical and dental services (either expressly or by practical compulsion) to work for the federal government or any specified State, agency or private industrial employer. This decision is likely to restrict the capacity of any future federal government to restructure the Australian health care system, eg by implementing recommendations from the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission for either federal government or private corporate control of presently State-run public hospitals.

  20. Recent changes in Medicaid policy and their possible effects on mental health services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buck, Jeffrey A

    2009-11-01

    As Medicaid has emerged as the primary funder of public mental health services, its character has affected the organization and delivery of such services. Recent changes to the program, however, promise to further affect the direction of changes in states' mental health service systems. One group of changes will further limit the flexibility of Medicaid mental health funding, while increasing provider accountability and the authority of state Medicaid agencies. Others will increase incentives for deinstitutionalization and community-based care and promote person-centered treatment principles. These changes will likely affect state mental health systems, mental health providers, and the nature of service delivery.

  1. Provision of genetics services on Guam.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McWalter, Kirsty; Hasegawa, Lianne; Au, Sylvia Mann

    2013-12-01

    Guam's geographic isolation and lack of community resources have resulted in unique healthcare needs. In 2006, the Western States Genetic Services Collaborative (WSGSC) conducted a genetics needs assessment and found that professional development is limited, families lack access to genetic services, and improved coverage of genetic testing is needed. With funding from the WSGSC, a Guam genetics outreach clinic was established and staffed by genetic counselors and a medical geneticist from Hawaii. Four clinics have been held to date. Although several challenges have been encountered, including minimal coverage of genetic testing by Guam insurance companies, limited referrals for families with private insurance, and inappropriate referral indications, the outreach clinic has been successful at increasing access to genetic services and improving professional development. With more collaborative work by staff from Guam, Hawaii, and the WSGSC, provision and reimbursement of genetic services and testing will continue to improve.

  2. Uranium enrichment services in the United States

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jelinek, P.; Lenders, M.

    1994-01-01

    The United States of America is the world's largest market for uranium enrichment services. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Russian uranium is entering the world market on an increasing scale. The U.S. tries to protect its market and, in this connection, also the European market from excessive price drops by taking anti-dumping measures. In order to become more competitive, American companies have adapted modern enrichment techniques from Europe. European - U.S. joint ventures are to help, also technically and economically, to integrate military uranium, accumulating as a consequence of worldwide disarmament, into the commercial fuel cycle for the peaceful use of nuclear power. (orig.) [de

  3. Exploring the interaction of activity limitations with context, systems, community and personal factors in accessing public health care services: A presentation of South African case studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mji, Gubela; Braathen, Stine H; Vergunst, Richard; Scheffler, Elsje; Kritzinger, Janis; Mannan, Hasheem; Schneider, Marguerite; Swartz, Leslie; Visagie, Surona

    2017-02-08

    There are many factors that influence access to public health services, such as the context people live in, the existing health services, and personal, cultural and community factors. People with disabilities (activity limitations), through their experience of health services, may offer a particular understanding of the performance of the health services, thus exposing health system limitations more clearly than perhaps any other health service user. This article explores how activity limitations interact with factors related to context, systems, community and personal factors in accessing public health care services in South Africa. We present four case studies of people with disabilities from four low-resource diverse contexts in South Africa (rural, semi-rural, farming community and peri-urban) to highlight challenges of access to health services experienced by people with activity limitations in a variety of contexts. One case study of a person with disabilities was chosen from each study setting to build evidence using an intensive qualitative case study methodology to elucidate individual and household experiences of challenges experienced by people with activity limitations when attempting to access public health services. In-depth interviews were used to collect data, using an interview guide. The analysis was conducted in the form of a thematic analysis using the interview topics as a starting point. First, these four case studies demonstrate that equitable access to health services for people with activity limitations is influenced by a complex interplay of a variety of factors for a single individual in a particular context. Secondly, that while problems with access to public health services are experienced by everyone, people with activity limitations are affected in particular ways making them particularly vulnerable in using public health services. The revitalisation of primary health care and the introduction of national health

  4. Assessment of the modern state and tendencies of development of the service market of Ukraine

    OpenAIRE

    Chornous Galina A.

    2013-01-01

    The article analyses the modern state and tendencies of development of the market of services in Ukraine, including tourist, social, hotel and restaurant, telephony, advertising, marketing, telecommunication, international trade and other services, such as insurance, financial, business and household services under conditions of the recent financial crisis. Service market of Ukraine during this period experienced significant changes, however, preserved stability with minimum losses. A signifi...

  5. Overview of States' Use of Telehealth for the Delivery of Early Intervention (IDEA Part C Services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jana Cason

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: Early intervention (EI services are designed to promote the development of skills and enhance the quality of life of infants and toddlers who have been identified as having a disability or developmental delay, enhance capacity of families to care for their child with special needs, reduce future educational costs, and promote independent living (NECTAC 2011.  EI services are regulated by Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA; however, personnel shortages, particularly in rural areas, limit access for children who qualify.  Telehealth is an emerging delivery model demonstrating potential to deliver EI services effectively and efficiently, thereby improving access and ameliorating the impact of provider shortages in underserved areas. The use of a telehealth delivery model facilitates inter-disciplinary collaboration, coordinated care, and consultation with specialists not available within a local community.  Method:  A survey sent by the National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (NECTAC to IDEA Part C coordinators assessed their utilization of telehealth within states’ IDEA Part C programs.  Reimbursement for provider type and services and barriers to implement a telehealth service delivery model were identified.  Results:  Representatives from 26 states and one jurisdiction responded to the NECTAC telehealth survey.  Of these, 30% (n=9 indicated that they are either currently using telehealth as an adjunct service delivery model (n=6 or plan to incorporate telehealth within the next 1-2 years (n=3.  Identified telehealth providers included developmental specialists, teachers of the Deaf/Hard of Hearing (DHH, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, behavior specialists, audiologists, and interpreters.  Reimbursement was variable and included use of IDEA Part C funding, Medicaid, and private insurance.  Expressed barriers and concerns for

  6. 76 FR 66940 - Privacy Act of 1974; Department of Homeland Security/United States Secret Service-004 Protection...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-10-28

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Office of the Secretary [Docket No. DHS-2011-0083] Privacy Act of 1974; Department of Homeland Security/United States Secret Service--004 Protection Information System... Security (DHS)/United States Secret Service (USSS)-004 System name: DHS/USSS-004 Protection Information...

  7. An Improved Abstract State Machine Based Choreography Specification and Execution Algorithm for Semantic Web Services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shahin Mehdipour Ataee

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available We identify significant weaknesses in the original Abstract State Machine (ASM based choreography algorithm of Web Service Modeling Ontology (WSMO, which make it impractical for use in semantic web service choreography engines. We present an improved algorithm which rectifies the weaknesses of the original algorithm, as well as a practical, fully functional choreography engine implementation in Flora-2 based on the improved algorithm. Our improvements to the choreography algorithm include (i the linking of the initial state of the ASM to the precondition of the goal, (ii the introduction of the concept of a final state in the execution of the ASM and its linking to the postcondition of the goal, and (iii modification to the execution of the ASM so that it stops when the final state condition is satisfied by the current configuration of the machine. Our choreography engine takes as input semantic web service specifications written in the Flora-2 dialect of F-logic. Furthermore, we prove the equivalence of ASMs (evolving algebras and evolving ontologies in the sense that one can simulate the other, a first in literature. Finally, we present a visual editor which facilitates the design and deployment of our F-logic based web service and goal specifications.

  8. Current state of seagrass ecosystem services: Research and policy integration

    KAUST Repository

    Ruiz-Frau, A.

    2017-10-12

    Seagrasses contribute to the maintenance of human wellbeing. However certain aspects of their role as ecosystem service (ES) providers remain understudied. Here, we synthesise the state of seagrass ES (SGES) research and policy implications. Additionally, we recommend ways in which SGES research can be integrated in to policy design, by drawing lessons from the case of Blue Carbon (BC). SGES research suffers from three main biases: a geographical bias, SGES has been restricted to chartered seagrass areas; a type of service research bias, provisioning and regulating services have received extensive attention while cultural services remain understudied; a type of discipline bias, the ecological aspects of SGES have been well documented while economic and social aspects remain in comparison understudied. These are particularly important, as an understanding of the social and economic considerations of the provision of ES is fundamental to facilitate its integration into policy frameworks. Lessons drawn from the operationalization process of BC show the reoccurrence of certain aspects that have enabled the integration of BC into policy. These aspects are grouped under 4 different categories. From the analysis of these elements we draw lessons that could facilitate the operationalization of other ecosystem services and their incorporation into management policy frameworks.

  9. 28 CFR 29.6 - Limited participation by states and localities permitted.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 28 Judicial Administration 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Limited participation by states and localities permitted. 29.6 Section 29.6 Judicial Administration DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT... locality need not authorize the stopping of motor vehicles under all sets of conditions specified under the...

  10. The limiting temperature of hot nuclei from microscopic equation of state

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baldo, M.; Ferreira, L.S.; Nicotra, O.E.

    2004-01-01

    The limiting temperature T lim of a series of nuclei is calculated employing a set of microscopic nuclear equations of state (EOS's). It is shown that the value of T lim is sensitive to the nuclear matter equation of state used. Comparison with the values extracted in recent phenomenological analysis appears to favor a definite selection of EOS's. On the basis of this phenomenological analysis, it therefore seems possible to check the microscopic calculations of the nuclear EOS at finite temperature, which is hardly accessible through other experimental information

  11. Current National Weather Service Watches, Warnings, or Advisories for the United States

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The National Weather Service (NWS) Storm Prediction Center uses RSS feeds to disseminate all watches, warnings and advisories for the United States that are...

  12. Food Service Guideline Policies on State Government-Controlled Properties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaganjor, Hatidza; Bishop Kendrick, Katherine; Warnock, Amy Lowry; Onufrak, Stephen; Whitsel, Laurie P; Ralston Aoki, Julie; Kimmons, Joel

    2016-09-13

    Food service guideline (FSG) policies can impact millions of daily meals sold or provided to government employees, patrons, and institutionalized persons. This study describes a classification tool to assess FSG policy attributes and uses it to rate FSG policies. Quantitative content analysis. State government facilities in the United States. Participants were from 50 states and District of Columbia in the United States. Frequency of FSG policies and percentage alignment to tool. State-level policies were identified using legal research databases to assess bills, statutes, regulations, and executive orders proposed or adopted by December 31, 2014. Full-text reviews were conducted to determine inclusion. Included policies were analyzed to assess attributes related to nutrition, behavioral supports, and implementation guidance. A total of 31 policies met the inclusion criteria; 15 were adopted. Overall alignment ranged from 0% to 86%, and only 10 policies aligned with a majority of the FSG policy attributes. Western states had the most FSG policies proposed or adopted (11 policies). The greatest number of FSG policies were proposed or adopted (8 policies) in 2011, followed by the years 2013 and 2014. The FSG policies proposed or adopted through 2014 that intended to improve the food and beverage environment on state government property vary considerably in their content. This analysis offers baseline data on the FSG landscape and information for future FSG policy assessments. © The Author(s) 2016.

  13. 42 CFR 433.67 - Limitations on level of FFP for permissible provider-related donations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... provider-related donations. 433.67 Section 433.67 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES... permissible provider-related donations. (a)(1) Limitations on bona fide donations. There are no limitations on the amount of bona fide provider-related donations that a State may receive without a reduction in FFP...

  14. Limiting stable states of high-Tc superconductors in the alternating current modes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Romanovskii, V.R.; Watanabe, K.; Awaji, S.

    2014-01-01

    The limiting current-carrying capacity of high-T c superconductor and superconducting tape has been studied in the alternating current states. The features that are responsible for their stable formation have been investigated under the conduction-cooled conditions when the operating peak values of the electric field and the current may essentially exceed the corresponding critical values of superconductor. Besides, it has been proved that these peak values are higher than the values of the electric field and the current, which lead to the thermal runaway phenomenon when the current instability onset occurs in the operating modes with direct current. As a result, the stable extremely high heat generation exists in these operating states, which can be called as overloaded states. The limiting stable peak values of charged currents and stability conditions have been determined taking into account the flux creep states of superconductors. The analysis performed has revealed that there exist characteristic times defining the corresponding time windows in the stable development of overloaded states of the alternating current. In order to explain their existence, the basic thermo-electrodynamics mechanisms have been formulated, which have allowed to explain the high stable values of the temperature and the induced electric field before the onset of alternating current instability. In general, it has been shown that the high-T c superconductors may stably operate in the overloaded alternating current states even under the not intensive cooling conditions at a very high level of heat generation, which is not considered in the existing theory of losses. (authors)

  15. The context and limitations of female sterilization services in Pakistan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Adnan Ahmad; Khan, Ayesha; Abbas, Khadija; Tirmizi, Syed Farhan Ali; ul Islam, Zia

    2013-04-01

    Female sterilization has long been the most popular method of family planning (FP) in Pakistan, and yet most public health experts feel it contributes little to controlling family size or to population welfare. We used Pakistan Demographic Health Survey (PDHS) data to understand the role female sterilization plays in the overall context of FP in Pakistan. We performed a secondary analysis of data from the PDHS 1990-1 and 2006-7 to study factors that lead to sterilization and trends in the use of the procedure. In addition, census data were multiplied by proportions from PDHS data to estimate the number of women availing sterilization services. Around 1.9 million women in Pakistan are currently sterilized--up from 0.55 million in 1990-1, and around 173,867 undergo the procedure, annually. Women usually receive sterilization after 30 years of age (mean = 39) and after six children. The probability of sterilization increases with age, family size, and urban residence, and is unaffected by poverty, province of residence, or the woman or her husband's education. Most sterilizationis conducted in public sector facilities. Sterilization in Pakistan may be common, but occurs too late to have any significant effect on family size or benefit public health. Future avenues to make this option more useful to women and society would be to improve the repertoire and access and quality of FP services that are available, and to address governance issues that limit the performance and utility of government facilities.

  16. Heavy-traffic limits for polling models with exhaustive service and non-FCFS service orders

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    P. Vis (Petra); R. Bekker (Rene); R.D. van der Mei (Rob)

    2015-01-01

    htmlabstractWe study cyclic polling models with exhaustive service at each queue under a variety of non-FCFS (first-come-first-served) local service orders, namely last-come-first-served with and without preemption, random-order-of-service, processor sharing, the multi-class priority scheduling with

  17. 20 CFR 655.640 - Service and computation of time.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... EMPLOYMENT OF FOREIGN WORKERS IN THE UNITED STATES Enforcement of the Limitations Imposed on Employers Using... where service is by mail. In the interest of expeditious proceedings, the administrative law judge may...

  18. Transformative Empowerment in the Lagos State Civil Service: A Gender Policy Discourse

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Felicia A.D. Oyekanmi

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Transformation means positive change to new values and direction. This research is concerned with the relationship between empowerment processes that are transformatory and gender equality in the workplace. Its scope includes integrating a transformatory view into women’s and men’s consciousness and autonomy over their career, education and health. This research adopted a case-study approach by using the Ministries of Education, Health, Establishment, Training and Pensions and the Civil Service Commission in Lagos State, employing a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods as its empirical research methodology. The field work was carried out in Lagos State in the months of June and July, 2014 while the interview was in July and August, 2014. This study demonstrated that gender-blind policies disempower women and perpetuate gender inequalities in the Lagos State Civil Service. Further, it shows that the manifestation of transformatory empowerment is jeopardised by women and men's compliance with the existing expectations and inaction to bring about changes in policies and practices that are detrimental to the attainment of gender equality in the work place.

  19. Extent of reference services to users in Ebonyi State Public Libraary ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Users are very satisfied with the extent of reference services provided to them by the public library studied. Findings further show that the reference section of Ebonyi State Public Library, Abakiliki is faced with the problems of inadequate reading space, equipment and furniture, reference information sources, unconducive ...

  20. What factors are associated with state performance on provision of transition services to CSHCN?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kane, Debra J; Kasehagen, Laurin; Punyko, Judy; Carle, Adam C; Penziner, Andy; Thorson, Sarah

    2009-12-01

    To examine whether individual, condition-related, and system-related characteristics are associated with state performance (high, medium, low) on the provision of transition services to children with special health care needs (CSHCN). We conducted descriptive, bivariate, and multivariable analyses of 16876 children aged 12 to 17 years by using data from the 2005-2006 National Survey of Children With Special Health Care Needs. Polytomous logistic regression was used to compare the characteristics of CSHCN residing within high-, medium-, and low-performance states, with low-performance states serving as the reference group. Compared with non-Hispanic white CSHCN, Hispanic (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 0.25 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.17-0.37]) and non-Hispanic black (aOR: 0.44 [95% CI: 0.30-0.62]) CSHCN were less likely to reside in a high-performance than in a low-performance state. Compared with CSHCN who had a medical home or adequate insurance coverage, CSHCN who did not have a medical home or adequate insurance coverage were less likely to reside in a high-performance than in a low-performance state (aOR: 0.73 [95% CI: 0.57-0.95]; aOR: 0.73 [95% CI: 0.58-0.93], respectively). Key factors found to be important in a state's performance on provision of transition services to CSHCN were race/ethnicity and having a medical home and adequate insurance coverage. Efforts to support the Maternal and Child Health Bureau's integration of system-level factors in quality-improvement activities, particularly establishing a medical home and attaining and maintaining adequate insurance, are likely to help states improve their performance on provision of transition services.

  1. Shopping around for hospital services: a comparison of the United States and Canada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bell, C M; Crystal, M; Detsky, A S; Redelmeier, D A

    1998-04-01

    Historical comparisons indicate that US hospitals are more expensive than Canadian hospitals, but health care system reform might have changed the relative costs and timeliness of health care in the 2 countries. To estimate the price and convenience of selected hospital services in the United States and Canada for patients in 1997 had they paid out-of-pocket. Cross-sectional telephone survey conducted May 1996 to April 1997. The 2 largest acute care general hospitals from every city in the United States and Canada with a population greater than 500000. Each hospital was telephoned and asked their price and waiting time for 7 services: magnetic resonance imaging of the head without gadolinium; a screening mammogram; a 12-lead electrocardiogram; a prothrombin time measurement; a session of hemodialysis; a screening colonoscopy; and a total knee replacement. Waiting times were measured in days until earliest appointment and charges were converted to American currency. Overall, 48 US and 18 Canadian hospitals were surveyed. Median waiting times were significantly shorter in American hospitals for 4 services, particularly a magnetic resonance imaging of the head (3 days vs 150 days; Preplacement ($26805 vs $10651; Preplacement in the United States. US hospitals still provide higher prices and faster care than Canadian hospitals for patients who pay out-of-pocket.

  2. A prospective study of floor surface, shoes, floor cleaning and slipping in US limited-service restaurant workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verma, Santosh K; Chang, Wen Ruey; Courtney, Theodore K; Lombardi, David A; Huang, Yueng-Hsiang; Brennan, Melanye J; Mittleman, Murray A; Ware, James H; Perry, Melissa J

    2011-04-01

    Slips and falls are a leading cause of injury at work. Few studies, however, have systematically examined risk factors of slipping outside the laboratory environment. This study examined the association between floor surface characteristics, slip-resistant shoes, floor cleaning frequency and the risk of slipping in limited-service restaurant workers. 475 workers from 36 limited-service restaurants from three major chains in six states in the USA were recruited to participate in a prospective cohort study of workplace slipping. Kitchen floor surface roughness and coefficient of friction (COF) were measured in eight working areas and then averaged within each restaurant. The use of slip-resistant shoes was determined by examining the participant's shoes and noting the presence of a 'slip-resistant' marking on the sole. Restaurant managers reported the frequency of daily kitchen floor cleaning. Participants reported their slip experience and work hours weekly for up to 12 weeks. The survey materials were made available in three languages: English, Spanish and Portuguese. The associations between rate of slipping and risk factors were assessed using a multivariable negative binomial generalised estimating equation model. The mean of individual slipping rate varied among the restaurants from 0.02 to 2.49 slips per 40 work hours. After adjusting for age, gender, BMI, education, primary language, job tenure and restaurant chain, the use of slip-resistant shoes was associated with a 54% reduction in the reported rate of slipping (95% CI 37% to 64%), and the rate of slipping decreased by 21% (95% CI 5% to 34%) for each 0.1 increase in the mean kitchen COF. Increasing floor cleaning frequency was significantly associated with a decreasing rate of slipping when considered in isolation but not after statistical adjustment for other factors. These results provide support for the use of slip-resistant shoes and measures to increase COF as preventive interventions to reduce slips

  3. METHOD OF TAX AUDIT OF CERTAIN CATEGORIES OF TAXPAYERS BY STATE FISCAL SERVICE OF UKRAINE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bohdan Kostiuk

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Tax audit is an important part of tax control. It’s aimed to control the observance of tax legislation on taxes and fees. The purpose of the research is to generalize the method of performance of tax audits of individual taxpayers by State Fiscal Service of Ukraine. The subject of research is the methods of audit by State Fiscal Service of Ukraine. Methods. It was used general and specific methods of research, including: analysis and synthesis, system and process approaches, induction and deduction, etc. Results. The problem of tax auditing process in Ukraine is the absence of integrated and systematic approach for its implementation. Unfortunately, the practice of the tax audit is not yet examined clearly. Today the basic principles of tax audit are considered by the scientists only in theory. Apart from the existence of guidelines on verification of a particular type of taxes, other obligatory payments that are designed fiscal service, the formation of evidence, procedure for using certain methods and techniques for auditing, information sources are ignored legislators and scientists. Apart from the existence of guidelines on verification of a particular type of taxes, other obligatory payments which are designed by fiscal service, the formation of evidence base, procedure of usage of certain methods and techniques for audit, information sources and other issues are ignored by legislators and scientists. Despite this, today the tax audit is a tool to fully examine and reduce the tax risks of the organization. Another problem of tax audit is that legislation doesn’t fix the notion of tax audit so there is no exact interpretation of it. Tax audit engages more efficient flow of taxes and fees to the state budget. Although there is increase of the efficiency of the national tax auditing mechanism now, but there are some problems which need be resolved in order to ensure rational tax revenues in the budget under the present conditions of socio

  4. Assessing Early Implementation of State Autism Insurance Mandates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baller, Julia Berlin; Barry, Colleen L.; Shea, Kathleen; Walker, Megan M.; Ouellette, Rachel; Mandell, David S.

    2016-01-01

    In the United States, health insurance coverage for autism spectrum disorder treatments has been historically limited. In response, as of 2015, 40 states and Washington, DC, have passed state autism insurance mandates requiring many health plans in the private insurance market to cover autism diagnostic and treatment services. This study examined…

  5. Slaves of the state – medical internship and community service in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Owing to a chronic shortage of medical staff in South Africa, sleep-deprived medical interns and community service doctors work up to 200 hours of overtime per month under the state's commuted overtime policy. Nurses moonlight in circumvention of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act. For trainee doctors, overtime ...

  6. Accounting Manual for Educational Service Districts in the State of Washington

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lunghofer, Daniel S.

    2010-01-01

    This manual provides principles that are an integral part of the accounting requirements for educational service districts (ESDs) in the state of Washington. They are in conformance with generally accepted accounting principles, except where referenced in the ESD principles that follow. This manual provides guidance on the following topics:(1)…

  7. Use of health services by Brazilian older adults with and without functional limitation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silva, Alexandre Moreira de Melo; Mambrini, Juliana Vaz de Melo; Peixoto, Sérgio Viana; Malta, Deborah Carvalho; Lima-Costa, Maria Fernanda

    2017-06-01

    To analyze the use of health services and the quality of medical care received by Brazilian older adults with and without functional limitation. The main analyses were based on a national sample representing 23,815 participants of the National Survey on Health (PNS) aged 60 years or older. Functional limitation was defined by the difficulty to perform at least one out of ten basic or instrumental activities of daily living. Potential confounding variables included predisposing and enabling factors of the use of health services. The prevalence of functional limitation was 30.1% (95%CI 29.2-31.4). The number of doctor visits and hospitalizations in the past 12 months showed statistically significant associations with functional limitation, both for users of the public system (OR = 2.48 [95%CI 2.13-2.88] for three or more doctor visits and OR = 2.58 [95%CI 2.15-3.09] for one or more hospitalizations) and of the private system (OR = 2.56 [95%CI 1.50-4.36] and OR = 2.22 [95%CI 1.64-3.00], respectively). The propensity to use basic health units was higher among users of the private system with functional limitations (OR = 2.01 [95%CI 1.12-3.59]). Only two out of seven indicators of the quality of medical care received were associated with functional limitation, in the perception of users of public and private systems. The public system users with functional limitations did worse evaluation of the freedom for choosing the doctor and waiting time for an appointment, when compared with users of the same system without these limitations (OR = 0.81 [95%CI 0.67-0.99] and OR = 0.76 [95%CI 0.62-0.93], respectively). Older adults with functional limitations use more health services in comparison with those without such limitations. The magnitude of the association between functional limitation and number of doctor visits and hospitalizations was similar in the public and private health systems. Analisar o uso de serviços de saúde e a qualidade da atenção médica recebida por

  8. Implications of State Policy Changes on Mental Health Service Models for Students with Disabilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawson, Janelle E.; Cmar, Jennifer L.

    2016-01-01

    For over 25 years, students with disabilities in California received educationally related mental health services through interagency collaboration between school districts and county mental health agencies. After a major change in state policy that eliminated state-mandated interagency collaboration, school districts in California are now solely…

  9. Who killed Rambhor?: The state of emergency medical services in India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rajesh H Garg

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available In India, the healthcare delivery system starts up from the sub-center at the village level and reaches up to super specialty medical centers providing state of the art emergency medical services (EMS. These highest centers, located in big cities, are considered the last referral points for the patients from nearby cities and states. As the incidents of rail and road accidents have increased in recent years, the role of EMS becomes critical in saving precious lives. But when the facilities and management of these emergency centers succumbs before the patient, then the question arises regarding the adequate availability and quality of EMS. The death of an unknown common man, Rambhor, for want of EMS in three big hospitals in the national capital of India put a big question on the "health" of the emergency health services in India. The emergency services infrastructure seems inadequate and quality and timely provision of EMS to critical patients appears unsatisfactory. There is lack of emergency medicine (EM specialists in India and also the postgraduation courses in EM have not gained foot in our medical education system. Creation of a Centralized Medical Emergency Body, implementation of management techniques, modification of medical curriculum, and fixing accountability are some of the few steps which are required to improve the EMS in India.

  10. Clinical Social Work. State Laws Governing Independent Practice and Reimbursement of Services. Fact Sheet for the Honorable Daniel K. Inouye, United States Senate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    General Accounting Office, Washington, DC. Div. of Human Resources.

    This fact sheet on state laws governing the independent practice and reimbursement of services for clinical social workers contains information from questionnaires sent to the state agencies responsible for health insurance regulations and Medicaid and licensing activities. Information on Ohio, the only state which did not respond, is not…

  11. An Evaluation of the Cybersecurity Policies for the United States Health & Human Services Department: Criteria, Regulations, and Improvements

    OpenAIRE

    Derek Mohammed; Ronda Mariani

    2014-01-01

    This paper examines the criteria necessary for the evaluation of the cybersecurity policies for the United States Health and Human Services Department of the Federal Government. The overall purpose of cybersecurity policies and procedures is supported through compliance with Federal mandated regulation and standards, which serve to protect the organizational services and goals of the United States Health and Human Services Department, and to promote the best possible security practices in the...

  12. Status of Medical Library Resources and Services in Teaching Hospitals in Enugu State, Nigeria: implications for quality health care services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oluchi C. Okeke

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Considering the need for quality health information and resultant health care services in any society, this study was carried out to look into the status of library and information resources and services provided by medical libraries in Enugu State, Nigeria. The main objective of the study was to find out the information resources and services available for medical library users towards quality health care provision. Five (5 medical libraries of major teaching hospitals were used for the study with 980 registered users as the study population from where 245 users were sampled. Observation checklist was used to collect data on resources while questionnaire was used to collect data from the respondents on the services provided. The Medical Library Association Standard guided the analysis of data from observation while frequency counts and mean scores were used to analyze data from the questionnaire. Major findings showed that even though some of the required resources and services are available and provided the medical libraries, most of the required resources and services are not adequately provided by these libraries.

  13. A review of the present state and future policy alternatives for home visit nursing services in Korea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, Ji Young; Noh, Wonjung; Kim, Eunjoo; Choi, Kyung Won

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this study was to describe the current state of home visit nursing services in the Korean context and to suggest future policy directions. First, the three home visit nursing services that have developed in Korea are compared using the analytic framework provided by Gilbert and Terrell in 2012. The framework is based on four dimensions of social welfare: users, services, source of funds, and service delivery process. Second, we perform a strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat analysis to suggest comprehensive and constructive home visit nursing service policies for the future. Specifically, we advocate the creation of an organization that steers the central government to operate an integrated management organization to distribute services and reduce redundancy for preventing the waste of both medical and state financial resources. This study also recommends the development of educational programs to improve the quality of services and service evaluation criteria for the objective assessment of those services. These policy guidelines may prove useful both for Korea and for other countries that intend to prepare or revise their home visit nursing service systems. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  14. Now It's Necessary: Virtual Reference Services at Washington State University, Pullman

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicol, Erica Carlson; Crook, Linda

    2013-01-01

    While virtual reference services (VRS) are becoming more and more common in academic libraries, implementing and maintaining well-used and effective VRS can be a challenge in the face of competing demands on time, staffing, and funding. Between 2011 and 2012, librarians at Washington State University, Pullman (WSU) have overhauled and reorganized…

  15. Data Use "Multi-State" Spotlight: Using Data Fidelity Tools to Improve Data Quality. Transforming State Systems to Improve Outcomes for Children with Disabilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruedel, Kristin; Nelson, Gena; Bailey, Tessie

    2018-01-01

    To evaluate interim progress toward the State-identified Measurable Result (SIMR), states require access to high-quality data from local education agencies (LEAs) and early intervention service providers. In a review of 2017 Phase III State Systemic Improvement Plans (SSIP), 43 Part C states noted limitations or concerns related to data and…

  16. Pre-Service Teachers' Problems of Improvisation of Instructional Materials in Social Studies in Ekiti State University

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdu-Raheem, B. O.; Oluwagbohunmi, M. F.

    2015-01-01

    This study examined problems of improvisation of instructional materials in Social Studies by pre-service teachers in Ekiti State University. The population for the study comprised all Social Studies pre-service teachers in the Faculty of Education. The sample consisted of 90 Social Studies pre-service teachers selected from 200, 300 and 400…

  17. Transition from children's to adult services for young adults with life-limiting conditions: A realist review of the literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kerr, Helen; Price, Jayne; Nicholl, Honor; O'Halloran, Peter

    2017-11-01

    Improvements in care and treatment have led to more young adults with life-limiting conditions living beyond childhood, which means they must make the transition from children's to adult services. This has proved a challenging process for both young adults and service providers, with complex transition interventions interacting in unpredictable ways with local contexts. To explain how intervention processes interact with contextual factors to help transition from children's to adult services for young adults with life-limiting conditions. Systematic realist review of the literature. Literature was sourced from four electronic databases: Embase, MEDLINE, Science Direct and Cochrane Library from January 1995 to April 2016. This was supplemented with a search in Google Scholar and articles sourced from reference lists of included papers. Data were extracted using an adapted standardised data extraction tool which included identifying information related to interventions, mechanisms, contextual influences and outcomes. Two reviewers assessed the relevance of papers based on the inclusion criteria. Methodological rigor was assessed using the relevant Critical Appraisal Skills Programme tools. 78 articles were included in the review. Six interventions were identified related to an effective transition to adult services. Contextual factors include the need for children's service providers to collaborate with adult service providers to prepare an environment with knowledgeable staff and adequate resources. Mechanisms triggered by the interventions include a sense of empowerment and agency amongst all stakeholders. Early planning, collaboration between children's and adult service providers, and a focus on increasing the young adults' confidence in decision-making and engaging with adult services, are vital to a successful transition. Interventions should be tailored to their context and focused not only on organisational procedures but on equipping young adults, parents

  18. An Evaluation of the Cybersecurity Policies for the United States Health & Human Services Department: Criteria, Regulations, and Improvements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Derek Mohammed

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines the criteria necessary for the evaluation of the cybersecurity policies for the United States Health and Human Services Department of the Federal Government. The overall purpose of cybersecurity policies and procedures is supported through compliance with Federal mandated regulation and standards, which serve to protect the organizational services and goals of the United States Health and Human Services Department, and to promote the best possible security practices in the protection of information systems from unauthorized actors and cyber-threats. The criteria of the cybersecurity evaluation is identified and analyzed for quality, strengths, weaknesses, and future applicability. Topics within the criteria include organizational operation, regulations and industrial standards compliance, service delivery to national customers, and the prevention and mitigation of IT system and security failure. This analysis determines the strengths and weaknesses, and makes recommendations for revising the cybersecurity policies within the United States Health and Human Services Department.

  19. The History and Future of Low Vision Services in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mogk, Lylas; Goodrich, Gregory

    2004-01-01

    This article discusses the history of low vision services in the United States. The field began to gain momentum as the term "low vision" was conceptualized and coined, and this momentum is rapidly increasing with changes in the demographics of visual impairment.

  20. Emergency Medical Services Public Health Implications and Interim Guidance for the Ebola Virus in the United States

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christopher E. McCoy

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available The 25th known outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD is now a global public health emergency and the World Health Organization (WHO has declared the epidemic to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC. Since the first cases of the West African epidemic were reported in March 2014, there has been an increase in infection rates of over 13,000% over a 6-month period. The Ebola virus has now arrived in the United States and public health professionals, doctors, hospitals, Emergency Medial Services Administrators, Medical Directors, and policy makers have been working with haste to develop strategies to prevent the disease from reaching epidemic proportions. Prehospital care providers (emergency medical technicians and paramedics and medical first responders (including but not limited to firefighters and law enforcement are the healthcare systems front lines when it comes to first medical contact with patients outside of the hospital setting. Risk of contracting Ebola can be particularly high in this population of first responders if the appropriate precautions are not implemented. This article provides a brief clinical overview of the Ebola Virus Disease and provides a comprehensive summary of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Interim Guidance for Emergency Medical Services (EMS Systems and 9-1-1 Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPS for Management of Patients with Known of Suspected Ebola Virus Disease in the United States. [West J Emerg Med. 2014;15(7:-0.

  1. [Indigenous peoples' access to health services in Cuiabá, Mato Grosso State, Brazil].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gomes, Silvana Cardoso; Esperidião, Monique Azevedo

    2017-06-12

    This study aimed to evaluate indigenous peoples' access to medium and high-complexity health services in the municipality of Cuiabá, Mato Grosso State, Brazil, through the Casa de Saúde Indígena or Indigenous Peoples' Clinic (CASAI Cuiabá). A single case study with a qualitative approach was conducted at CASAI Cuiabá. Data were obtained from observation of the work routines at CASAI Cuiabá, semi-structured interviews with health professionals and administrators from the Cuiabá Special Indigenous Health District (DSEI) and CASAI Cuiabá, and document analysis. Data analysis used a matrix derived from the theoretical and logical model of accessibility, validated by the Delphi method with a group of experts on indigenous peoples' health. Despite advances achieved by CASAI in improving indigenous peoples' access, there are persistent social, organizational, cultural, and geographic barriers in access to medium and high-complexity health services in Cuiabá. The study highlights the need for specific strategies to improve access to health services by indigenous peoples in Mato Grosso State.

  2. Fluctuations in the limit cycle state and the problem of phase chaos

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Szepfalusy, P.; Tel, T.

    1981-11-01

    Gaussian fluctuations and first order fluctuation corrections to the deterministic solution are investigated in the framework of the generalized Ginzburg-Landau type equation of motion exhibiting a hard mode transition leading a to homogeneous limit cycle state. It is shown that the stationary distribution of the fluctuations around the limit cycle is not of the form of a Ginzburg-Landau functional. The nature of the further instability in the post bifurcational region, resulting in the phase chaos in the deterministic problem, is found to be qualitatively changed by the presence of noise. (author)

  3. LIMITED RESTAURANT SERVICE: WHITSUNTIDE WEEKEND

    CERN Multimedia

    2003-01-01

    Details of the arrangements to ensure the provision of a restaurant service during the Whitsuntide weekend are given below. On all the days indicated, hot meals will be served from 11h30 to 14h00 and 18h00 to 19h30. DATE RESTAURANT No. Opening times Saturday, June 7 1 08h00 - 21h00 2 and 3 closed Sunday, June 8 1 08h00 - 21h00 2 and 3 closed Monday, June 9 1 08h00 - 21h00 2 and 3 closed SATELLITE CAFETERIAS (Bldgs. 30, 40, 54) and the KIOSK will be closed on 7, 8 and 9 June.

  4. Differential in Utilization of Maternal Care Services in Empowered Action Group States, India (1990-2006

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeetendra Yadav

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Background: Low use of maternal care services is one of the reasons why child mortality and maternal mortality is still considerably high in India. Most maternal deaths are preventable if mothers receive essential health care before, during, and after childbirth. In India, the eight socioeconomically backward states referred to as the Empowered Action Group (EAG states; lag behind in the demographic transition and low utilization of maternal health care services. Addressing the maternity care needs of women may have considerable ramifications for achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG – 5.Aims & Objectives:  To explore the prevalence, trends and factors associated with the utilization of maternal care services in Empowered Action Group States, India (1990-2006.Material Methods: Data from three rounds of the round of the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS, known as the National Family Health Survey (NFHS of India were analyzed. Bivariate and multivariate-pooled logistic regression model were applied to examine the utilization of the maternal and child health care trends over time.Result: The results from analysis indicate that the full ANC and skilled birth attendant (SBA has increased from 17% and 20% to 25% and35% respectively during the last one and half decade (1990-2006.Conclusion: Various socioeconomic and demographic factors are associated with the utilization of maternal care services in EAG states, India. Promoting the use of family planning, female education, targeting vulnerable groups such as poor, illiterate, high parity women, involving media and grass root level workers and collaboration between community leaders and health care system could be some important policy level interventions to address the unmet need of maternal and child health care services among women. The study concludes that much of these differentials are social constructs that can be reduced by prioritizing the needs of the disadvantaged and adopting

  5. Differential in Utilization of Maternal Care Services in Empowered Action Group States, India (1990-2006

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeetendra Yadav

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Background: Low use of maternal care services is one of the reasons why child mortality and maternal mortality is still considerably high in India. Most maternal deaths are preventable if mothers receive essential health care before, during, and after childbirth. In India, the eight socioeconomically backward states referred to as the Empowered Action Group (EAG states; lag behind in the demographic transition and low utilization of maternal health care services. Addressing the maternity care needs of women may have considerable ramifications for achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG – 5. Aims & Objectives:  To explore the prevalence, trends and factors associated with the utilization of maternal care services in Empowered Action Group States, India (1990-2006. Material Methods: Data from three rounds of the round of the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS, known as the National Family Health Survey (NFHS of India were analyzed. Bivariate and multivariate-pooled logistic regression model were applied to examine the utilization of the maternal and child health care trends over time. Result: The results from analysis indicate that the full ANC and skilled birth attendant (SBA has increased from 17% and 20% to 25% and35% respectively during the last one and half decade (1990-2006. Conclusion: Various socioeconomic and demographic factors are associated with the utilization of maternal care services in EAG states, India. Promoting the use of family planning, female education, targeting vulnerable groups such as poor, illiterate, high parity women, involving media and grass root level workers and collaboration between community leaders and health care system could be some important policy level interventions to address the unmet need of maternal and child health care services among women. The study concludes that much of these differentials are social constructs that can be reduced by prioritizing the needs of the disadvantaged and

  6. Experimental and theoretical examples of the value and limitations of transition state theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Golden, D.M.

    1979-01-01

    Value and limitations of transition-state theory (TST) are reviewed. TST analyses of the temperature dependence of the ''direct'' reactions CH 3 + CH 3 CHO → CH 4 + CH 3 CO (1) and O + CH 4 → OH + CH 3 (2) are presented in detail, and other examples of TST usefulness are recalled. Limitations are discussed for bimolecular processes in terms of ''complex'' vs ''direct'' mechanisms. The reaction OH + CO → CO 2 + H is discussed in this context. Limitations for unimolecular processes seem to arise only for simple bond fission processes, and recent advances are noted. 2 figures, 5 tables

  7. Experimental and theoretical examples of the value and limitations of transition state theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Golden, D. M.

    1979-01-01

    Value and limitations of transition-state theory (TST) are reviewed. TST analyses of the temperature dependence of the 'direct' reactions CH3 + CH3CHO yields CH4 + CH3CO(1) and O + CH4 yields OH + CH3(2) are presented in detail, and other examples of TST usefulness are recalled. Limitations are discussed for bimolecular processes in terms of 'complex' vs. 'direct' mechanisms. The reaction OH + CO yields CO2 + H is discussed in this context. Limitations for unimolecular processes seem to arise only for simple bond fission processes, and recent advances are noted.

  8. Food Service Guideline Policies on State Government Controlled Properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaganjor, Hatidza; Bishop Kendrick, Katherine; Warnock, Amy Lowry; Onufrak, Stephen; Whitsel, Laurie P.; Ralston Aoki, Julie; Kimmons, Joel

    2017-01-01

    Purpose Food service guidelines (FSG) policies can impact millions of daily meals sold or provided to government employees, patrons, and institutionalized persons. This study describes a classification tool to assess FSG policy attributes and uses it to rate FSG policies. Design Quantitative content analysis. Setting State government facilities in the U.S. Subjects 50 states and District of Columbia. Measures Frequency of FSG policies and percent alignment to tool. Analysis State-level policies were identified using legal research databases to assess bills, statutes, regulations, and executive orders proposed or adopted by December 31, 2014. Full-text reviews were conducted to determine inclusion. Included policies were analyzed to assess attributes related to nutrition, behavioral supports, and implementation guidance. Results A total of 31 policies met inclusion criteria; 15 were adopted. Overall alignment ranged from 0% to 86%, and only 10 policies aligned with a majority of FSG policy attributes. Western States had the most FSG policy proposed or adopted (11 policies). The greatest number of FSG policies were proposed or adopted (8 policies) in 2011, followed by the years 2013 and 2014. Conclusion FSG policies proposed or adopted through 2014 that intended to improve the food and beverage environment on state government property vary considerably in their content. This analysis offers baseline data on the FSG landscape and information for future FSG policy assessments. PMID:27630113

  9. Achieving universal health coverage in small island states: could importing health services provide a solution?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walls, Helen; Smith, Richard

    2018-01-01

    Background Universal health coverage (UHC) is difficult to achieve in settings short of medicines, health workers and health facilities. These characteristics define the majority of the small island developing states (SIDS), where population size negates the benefits of economies of scale. One option to alleviate this constraint is to import health services, rather than focus on domestic production. This paper provides empirical analysis of the potential impact of this option. Methods Analysis was based on publicly accessible data for 14 SIDS, covering health-related travel and health indicators for the period 2003–2013, together with in-depth review of medical travel schemes for the two highest importing SIDS—the Maldives and Tuvalu. Findings Medical travel from SIDS is accelerating. The SIDS studied generally lacked health infrastructure and technologies, and the majority of them had lower than the recommended number of physicians in a country, which limits their capacity for achieving UHC. Tuvalu and the Maldives were the highest importers of healthcare and notably have public schemes that facilitate medical travel and help lower the out-of-pocket expenditure on medical travel. Although different in approach, design and performance, the medical travel schemes in Tuvalu and the Maldives are both examples of measures used to increase access to health services that cannot feasibly be provided in SIDS. Interpretation Our findings suggest that importing health services (through schemes to facilitate medical travel) is a potential mechanism to help achieve universal healthcare for SIDS but requires due diligence over cost, equity and quality control. PMID:29527349

  10. Body dimensions and weight to height indices in rescuers from the State Fire Service of Poland

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wiśniewski Andrzej

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Few studies have been published in Poland concerning body dimensions of firefighters from the State Fire Service although this knowledge is needed for e.g. development of personal protective equipment. The aim of the study was to evaluate body dimensions and weight-to-height ratio in firefighters from the State Fire Service. Using the anthropological procedures, body mass (BM and body height (BH were examined in 178 men at the chronological age (CA of 19.5 to 53 years who were rescuers from the national rescue and fire brigades of the State Fire Service. The study participants were divided into three categories of CA: up to 25 years, between 24 and 44 years, and over 44 years. The results were compared to population standards. It was found that BH of the youngest rescuers was significantly higher (0.05 than in other study participants. Based on the standardized values of BM and BMI, population of firefighters aged over 25 years was found to be characterized by overweight and, in certain cases, even by obesity. The excess level of body mass index (BMI ≥ 25 kgm2 was found in nearly 60% of study participants, with half of the group classified as overweight (n=31, BMI ranging from 25 to 29.9 kg/m2, and 10% classified as obese. Due to the worrying high percentage of cases of excess body mass in firefighters from the State Fire Service, it was found that it is recommended to evaluate the relationships between body height and mass on regular basis during periodical obligatory tests of physical fitness of rescuers from the State Fire Service and to increase the frequency and duration of training sessions.

  11. Alternative states of a semiarid grassland ecosystem: implications for ecosystem services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Mark E.; Belote, R. Travis; Bowker, Matthew A.; Garman, Steven L.

    2011-01-01

    Ecosystems can shift between alternative states characterized by persistent differences in structure, function, and capacity to provide ecosystem services valued by society. We examined empirical evidence for alternative states in a semiarid grassland ecosystem where topographic complexity and contrasting management regimes have led to spatial variations in levels of livestock grazing. Using an inventory data set, we found that plots (n = 72) cluster into three groups corresponding to generalized alternative states identified in an a priori conceptual model. One cluster (biocrust) is notable for high coverage of a biological soil crust functional group in addition to vascular plants. Another (grass-bare) lacks biological crust but retains perennial grasses at levels similar to the biocrust cluster. A third (annualized-bare) is dominated by invasive annual plants. Occurrence of grass-bare and annualized-bare conditions in areas where livestock have been excluded for over 30 years demonstrates the persistence of these states. Significant differences among all three clusters were found for percent bare ground, percent total live cover, and functional group richness. Using data for vegetation structure and soil erodibility, we also found large among-cluster differences in average levels of dust emissions predicted by a wind-erosion model. Predicted emissions were highest for the annualized-bare cluster and lowest for the biocrust cluster, which was characterized by zero or minimal emissions even under conditions of extreme wind. Results illustrate potential trade-offs among ecosystem services including livestock production, soil retention, carbon storage, and biodiversity conservation. Improved understanding of these trade-offs may assist ecosystem managers when evaluating alternative management strategies.

  12. [Organization of the drug supply chain in state health services: potential consequences of the public-private mix].

    Science.gov (United States)

    López-Moreno, Sergio; Martínez-Ojeda, Rosa Haydeé; López-Arellano, Oliva; Jarillo-Soto, Edgar; Castro-Albarrán, Juan Manuel

    2011-01-01

    To assess the consequences of private outsourcing on the overall supply and filling of prescriptions in state health services. The research was conducted using quantitative and qualitative techniques in 13 states. The information was collected through interviews and direct observation. The interviews were carried on staff of state health services related to the drug supply chain and users of health services. The quantitative approach examined the percentage of stocked full recipes in a sample of users. States that have opted for the fully outsourced model, and properly monitored this choice, have increased the supply of drugs to their users and guaranteed the supply in the care units in charge. Other states with the outsourced model have multiple problems: direct purchase of drugs not included in the basic drugs catalogue, failure of suppliers and shortage of supplies in the laboratories that provide the company. The main disadvantages identified in all models were: the subordination of the medical criteria to administrative criteria, insufficient planning based on local care needs, heterogeneous procedures, insufficient knowledge of regulations and lack of normativity. The results indicate that the incorporation of private providers in the drug supply chain may not be the solution to bring down the shortage faced by health services, especially at the hospital level. The shift to outsourcing models has developed without incorporating evaluation mechanisms and the consequences that this transition can have on state health systems must be investigated more deeply.

  13. Service Quality of State Universities in Turkey: The Case of Ankara

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eres, Figen

    2011-01-01

    The aim of this study is determine the service quality perceptions of students being educated at state universities in Ankara. The sample of the study is composed of final grade students of faculties of Economics and Administrative Sciences. The sample of the study is composed of a total of randomly selected students. There were 416 returned…

  14. State of the art in Europe on dose limit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Munoz, M. J.; Amor, I.

    2002-01-01

    The process of setting up new radiological protection limits and requirements constitutes a long and laborious task, since the definition of the scientific bases that support them until their obliged fulfillment by adoption in national regulations. This paper analyzes the most important news contained in the Directive 96/29/Euratom, that are being transposed into Member States national legislations. Additionally the implications derived from the process are taken into consideration. Certain items as the new dose limits for exposed workers and public, the application of dose constraints, and the requirements for the protection of pregnant women and fetus, were object of special controversy during the development of the directive and they are not being transposed in a common way. So the different approach in the setting up of occupational doses can generate difficulties in the context of the european market. Through the directive constitutes the framework for the radiological protection in the European Union, there are certain difficulties for common implementation that will require subsequent explanations from the Commission and the Competent National Authorities. (Author)

  15. 39 CFR 111.1 - Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual; incorporated by...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 39 Postal Service 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual; incorporated by reference of regulations governing domestic mail services... the approval of the Director of the Federal Register.” In conformity with that provision, and with 39...

  16. Energy service companies -- The sky's the limit

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fraser, M.; Montross, C.

    1998-07-01

    The term ESCO has a different meaning to different people. Increasingly, the term is used in its broadest sense to describe any company providing services related to a customer's energy acquisition and use. Previously, the term ESCO was synonymous with contractors who installed new equipment that was paid for by the energy cost savings that resulted. As a result of competition, restructuring and de-regulation of the electricity and gas sectors, the range of firms offering energy services now includes: local utilities using services to retain customers, remote utilities offering services to customers outside their franchise as a door opener to future commodity sales, local and remote utilities who see services as a more lucrative growth opportunity than commodities or transportation of the commodity, facility managers taking advantage of outsourcing trends and using energy management to reduce costs, power marketers, power brokers, aggregators combining energy analysis to segment their customers with processes to identify potential conservation and load management opportunities, cogeneration developers, and agents who help their customers navigate the uncharted waters of the deregulated energy business. This paper will review the impact of the broader definition of ESCOs with a view toward forecasting future trends in the industry including consideration of the fact that the term, energy service, may, itself, be too narrow a definition for a successful business of industry.

  17. FSM-F: Finite State Machine Based Framework for Denial of Service and Intrusion Detection in MANET.

    Science.gov (United States)

    N Ahmed, Malik; Abdullah, Abdul Hanan; Kaiwartya, Omprakash

    2016-01-01

    Due to the continuous advancements in wireless communication in terms of quality of communication and affordability of the technology, the application area of Mobile Adhoc Networks (MANETs) significantly growing particularly in military and disaster management. Considering the sensitivity of the application areas, security in terms of detection of Denial of Service (DoS) and intrusion has become prime concern in research and development in the area. The security systems suggested in the past has state recognition problem where the system is not able to accurately identify the actual state of the network nodes due to the absence of clear definition of states of the nodes. In this context, this paper proposes a framework based on Finite State Machine (FSM) for denial of service and intrusion detection in MANETs. In particular, an Interruption Detection system for Adhoc On-demand Distance Vector (ID-AODV) protocol is presented based on finite state machine. The packet dropping and sequence number attacks are closely investigated and detection systems for both types of attacks are designed. The major functional modules of ID-AODV includes network monitoring system, finite state machine and attack detection model. Simulations are carried out in network simulator NS-2 to evaluate the performance of the proposed framework. A comparative evaluation of the performance is also performed with the state-of-the-art techniques: RIDAN and AODV. The performance evaluations attest the benefits of proposed framework in terms of providing better security for denial of service and intrusion detection attacks.

  18. Neuropsychology and Rehabilitation Services in the United States: Brief Report from a Survey of Clinical Neuropsychologists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Block, Cady; Santos, Octavio A; Flores-Medina, Yvonne; Rivera Camacho, Diego Fernando; Arango-Lasprilla, Juan Carlos

    2017-05-01

    To provide a brief presentation of preliminary data on rehabilitation services provided by clinical neuropsychologists within the United States. This survey utilized data extracted from a larger international research study conducted in 39 countries including N = 173 professionals who reported to engage in neuropsychological rehabilitative services within the past year (63.6% female, 44.36 ± 11.83 years of age) took part in the study. Neuropsychologists providing rehabilitation services in the United States in the past year were more likely to provide individual versus group therapy, likely to employ technology (e.g., personal computers, mobile phones/smartphones) as part of treatment services, see a range of diagnostic groups most prominently traumatic brain injury and stroke/vascular conditions, and work to address a range of both cognitive (e.g., memory, attention/concentration, and executive functioning) and psychological (e.g., emotional/behavioral adjustment and well-being, awareness of disability/disease) issues. Prior published surveys suggest that clinical neuropsychologists have a growing involvement in rehabilitation services within the United States but with little clarity as to the actual characteristics of actual professional activities and practices. The present study aimed to provide such information and hopefully will be helpful in promoting additional systematic studies in this area. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  19. 27 CFR 70.226 - Suspension of running of period of limitation; taxpayer outside of United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Suspension of running of... Limitations § 70.226 Suspension of running of period of limitation; taxpayer outside of United States. The running of the period of limitations on collection after assessment prescribed in 26 U.S.C. 6502 (relating...

  20. Europeanisation and the Rescaling of Water Services: Agency and State Spatial Strategies in the Algarve, Portugal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andreas Thiel

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Institutional arrangements to provide water services have been reshaped extensively worldwide. This paper provides a theory-informed account of the way in which water service provision has been physically and institutionally restructured in the Algarve, Portugal over the years. Ever-expanding demands for water services by the tourism sector, along with European Union (EU regulations and money, made the local people dependent on national policy for water service provision. Parts of the Portuguese national elite, favouring the construction of water resources as 'strategic’ and 'social' goods, rather than 'economic' and 'scarce' goods, worked towards establishing national level control over water services. They became part of the state’s decentralised hegemonic spatial strategy for expansion of tourism in the Algarve. The district level was constituted as a decentralised level of national resource governance. The case study shows the role of European policies in restructuring the spatio-temporal order in the Algarve and strengthening the influence of the national state within the region. The reconfiguration of the water sector in Portugal illustrates 'spatial Keynesianism' with half-hearted mercantilisación of water services as an outcome of the juxtaposition of a nationally rooted state-led water service provision with more flexible approaches originating at the European level. A consequential outcome has been that water quality, sewage treatment, and reliability of services, have significantly improved in line with European requirements.

  1. 20 CFR 661.440 - What limitations apply to the State's Workforce Flexibility Plan authority under WIA?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... limitations apply to the State's Workforce Flexibility Plan authority under WIA? (a)(1) Under work-flex waiver... flexibility plan. Once approved, a State's work-flex designation is conditioned on the State demonstrating it... Workforce Flexibility Plan authority under WIA? 661.440 Section 661.440 Employees' Benefits EMPLOYMENT AND...

  2. Ecosystem services provided by Pacific NW estuaries: State of knowledge - March 3, 2011

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coastal regions in the United States are rapidly developing areas, with increasing urbanization and growing populations. Estuarine and nearshore coastal marine waters provide valuable ecosystem services to resident and transient human communities. In the Pacific Northwest (PNW) ...

  3. Land grants of New Mexico and the United States Forest Service

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carol Raish; Alice M. McSweeney

    2011-01-01

    The U.S. Forest Service (FS) has a long, shared history with the Spanish and Mexican land grants of northern New Mexico. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the war between the United States and Mexico, was supposed to recognize and respect the property rights of the resident Hispano population. In many cases the intent of the Treaty was not honored. During...

  4. Power reactor services provided by the Penn State Radiation Science and Engineering Center

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Voth, M.H.; Jester, W.A.

    1993-01-01

    The power reactor industry emerged from extensive research and development performed at nonpower reactors (NPRs). As the industry matures, NPRs continue to support and enhance power reactor technology. With the closure of many government and private industry NPRS, there is an increasing call for the 33 universities with operating research reactors to provide the needed services. The Penn State Radiation Science and Engineering Center (RSEC) includes a 1-MW pool-type pulsing TRIGA reactor, a neutron beam laboratory with real-time neutron radiography equipment, hot cells with master-slave manipulators for remote handling of radioactive materials, a gamma-ray irradiation pool, a low-level radiation monitoring laboratory, and extensive equipment for radiation monitoring, dosimetry, and material properties determination. While equipment is heavily utilized in the instructional and academic research programs, significant time remains available for service work. Cost recovery for service work generates income for personnel, equipment maintenance, and facility improvements. With decreasing federal and state funding for educational programs, it is increasingly important that facilities be fully utilized to generate supplementary revenue. The following are examples of such work performed at the RSEC

  5. Potential and limits to cluster-state quantum computing using probabilistic gates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gross, D.; Kieling, K.; Eisert, J.

    2006-01-01

    We establish bounds to the necessary resource consumption when building up cluster states for one-way computing using probabilistic gates. Emphasis is put on state preparation with linear optical gates, as the probabilistic character is unavoidable here. We identify rigorous general bounds to the necessary consumption of initially available maximally entangled pairs when building up one-dimensional cluster states with individually acting linear optical quantum gates, entangled pairs, and vacuum modes. As the known linear optics gates have a limited maximum success probability, as we show, this amounts to finding the optimal classical strategy of fusing pieces of linear cluster states. A formal notion of classical configurations and strategies is introduced for probabilistic nonfaulty gates. We study the asymptotic performance of strategies that can be simply described, and prove ultimate bounds to the performance of the globally optimal strategy. The arguments employ methods of random walks and convex optimization. This optimal strategy is also the one that requires the shortest storage time, and necessitates the fewest invocations of probabilistic gates. For two-dimensional cluster states, we find, for any elementary success probability, an essentially deterministic preparation of a cluster state with quadratic, hence optimal, asymptotic scaling in the use of entangled pairs. We also identify a percolation effect in state preparation, in that from a threshold probability on, almost all preparations will be either successful or fail. We outline the implications on linear optical architectures and fault-tolerant computations

  6. Serviceability behavior of Reinforcement Concrete beams with polypropylene and steel fibers

    OpenAIRE

    NaserKabashi; Cenë Krasniqi

    2015-01-01

    Serviceability Limit States (SLS) may lead to the design of concrete elements internally reinforced with Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP).In many types of concrete structure loss the serviceability due to wide cracks, number of cracks or large deflection is not uncommon behaviour in concrete structures or concrete beams.The flexural ductility affects the serviceability deflection of RC beams once flexural cracking take place.Imprvement will be focused on the use of polypropilene fib...

  7. The impact of a state-sponsored mass media campaign on use of telephone quitline and web-based cessation services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duke, Jennifer C; Mann, Nathan; Davis, Kevin C; MacMonegle, Anna; Allen, Jane; Porter, Lauren

    2014-12-24

    Most US smokers do not use evidence-based interventions as part of their quit attempts. Quitlines and Web-based treatments may contribute to reductions in population-level tobacco use if successfully promoted. Currently, few states implement sustained media campaigns to promote services and increase adult smoking cessation. This study examines the effects of Florida's tobacco cessation media campaign and a nationally funded media campaign on telephone quitline and Web-based registrations for cessation services from November 2010 through September 2013. We conducted multivariable analyses of weekly media-market-level target rating points (TRPs) and weekly registrations for cessation services through the Florida Quitline (1-877-U-CAN-NOW) or its Web-based cessation service, Web Coach (www.quitnow.net/florida). During 35 months, 141,221 tobacco users registered for cessation services through the Florida Quitline, and 53,513 registered through Web Coach. An increase in 100 weekly TRPs was associated with an increase of 7 weekly Florida Quitline registrants (β = 6.8, P Web Coach registrants (β = 1.7, P = .003) in an average media market. An increase in TRPs affected registrants from multiple demographic subgroups similarly. When state and national media campaigns aired simultaneously, approximately one-fifth of Florida's Quitline registrants came from the nationally advertised portal (1-800-QUIT-NOW). Sustained, state-sponsored media can increase the number of registrants to telephone quitlines and Web-based cessation services. Federally funded media campaigns can further increase the reach of state-sponsored cessation services.

  8. 78 FR 65392 - Product Change-Parcel Return Service Negotiated Service Agreement

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-10-31

    ... POSTAL SERVICE Product Change--Parcel Return Service Negotiated Service Agreement AGENCY: Postal... INFORMATION: The United States Postal Service[supreg] hereby gives notice that, pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 3642 and... States Postal Service To Add Parcel Return Service Contract 5 to Competitive Product List. Documents are...

  9. 78 FR 12369 - Product Change-Parcel Return Service Negotiated Service Agreement

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-22

    ... POSTAL SERVICE Product Change--Parcel Return Service Negotiated Service Agreement AGENCY: Postal...: The United States Postal Service[supreg] hereby gives notice that, pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 3642 and 3632... States Postal Service to Add Parcel Return Service Contract 3 to Competitive Product List. Documents are...

  10. Partnerships and the good-governance agenda: improving service delivery through state-NGO collaborations

    OpenAIRE

    Bano, M

    2018-01-01

    First under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and now under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), partnerships for development, especially between state and NGOs, remain a valued goal. Partnerships are argued to improve provision of basic social services to the poor: the state is viewed as providing scale, with NGOs ensuring good governance. Close study of three leading partnership arrangements in Pakistan (privatization of basic health units, an 'adopt a school' program, and low-co...

  11. 50 CFR 20.106 - Seasons, limits, and shooting hours for sandhill cranes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... sandhill cranes. 20.106 Section 20.106 Wildlife and Fisheries UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE..., and Shooting Hours Schedules § 20.106 Seasons, limits, and shooting hours for sandhill cranes. This section provides for the annual hunting of sandhill cranes in designated portions of the 48 contiguous...

  12. FSM-F: Finite State Machine Based Framework for Denial of Service and Intrusion Detection in MANET.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Malik N Ahmed

    Full Text Available Due to the continuous advancements in wireless communication in terms of quality of communication and affordability of the technology, the application area of Mobile Adhoc Networks (MANETs significantly growing particularly in military and disaster management. Considering the sensitivity of the application areas, security in terms of detection of Denial of Service (DoS and intrusion has become prime concern in research and development in the area. The security systems suggested in the past has state recognition problem where the system is not able to accurately identify the actual state of the network nodes due to the absence of clear definition of states of the nodes. In this context, this paper proposes a framework based on Finite State Machine (FSM for denial of service and intrusion detection in MANETs. In particular, an Interruption Detection system for Adhoc On-demand Distance Vector (ID-AODV protocol is presented based on finite state machine. The packet dropping and sequence number attacks are closely investigated and detection systems for both types of attacks are designed. The major functional modules of ID-AODV includes network monitoring system, finite state machine and attack detection model. Simulations are carried out in network simulator NS-2 to evaluate the performance of the proposed framework. A comparative evaluation of the performance is also performed with the state-of-the-art techniques: RIDAN and AODV. The performance evaluations attest the benefits of proposed framework in terms of providing better security for denial of service and intrusion detection attacks.

  13. PLANNING NATIONAL RADIOTHERAPY SERVICES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eduardo eRosenblatt

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Countries, states and island nations often need forward planning of their radiotherapy services driven by different motives. Countries without radiotherapy services sponsor patients to receive radiotherapy abroad. They often engage professionals for a feasibility study in order to establish whether it would be more cost-beneficial to establish a radiotherapy facility. Countries where radiotherapy services have developed without any central planning, find themselves in situations where many of the available centres are private and thus inaccessible for a majority of patients with limited resources. Government may decide to plan ahead when a significant exodus of cancer patients travel to another country for treatment, thus exposing the failure of the country to provide this medical service for its citizens. In developed countries the trigger has been the existence of highly visible waiting lists for radiotherapy revealing a shortage of radiotherapy equipment.This paper suggests that there should be a systematic and comprehensive process of long-term planning of radiotherapy services at the national level, taking into account the regulatory infrastructure for radiation protection, planning of centres, equipment, staff, education pr

  14. Improving spatial resolution in quantum imaging beyond the Rayleigh diffraction limit using multiphoton W entangled states

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wen Jianming, E-mail: jianming.wen@gmail.co [National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures and Department of Physics, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China); Department of Physics, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701 (United States); Du, Shengwang [Department of Physics, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Bay (Hong Kong); Xiao Min [National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures and Department of Physics, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China); Department of Physics, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701 (United States); School of Modern Engineering and Applied Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China)

    2010-08-23

    Using multiphoton entangled states, we demonstrate improving spatial imaging resolution beyond the Rayleigh diffraction limit in the quantum imaging process. In particular, we examine resolution enhancement using triphoton W state and a factor of 2 is achievable as with the use of the Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger state, compared to using a classical-light source.

  15. Limits on nonlocal correlations from the structure of the local state space

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Janotta, Peter; Gogolin, Christian; Barrett, Jonathan; Brunner, Nicolas

    2011-01-01

    The outcomes of measurements on entangled quantum systems can be nonlocally correlated. However, while it is easy to write down toy theories allowing arbitrary nonlocal correlations, those allowed in quantum mechanics are limited. Quantum correlations cannot, for example, violate a principle known as macroscopic locality, which implies that they cannot violate Tsirelson's bound. This paper shows that there is a connection between the strength of nonlocal correlations in a physical theory and the structure of the state spaces of individual systems. This is illustrated by a family of models in which local state spaces are regular polygons, where a natural analogue of a maximally entangled state of two systems exists. We characterize the nonlocal correlations obtainable from such states. The family allows us to study the transition between classical, quantum and super-quantum correlations by varying only the local state space. We show that the strength of nonlocal correlations - in particular whether the maximally entangled state violates Tsirelson's bound or not-depends crucially on a simple geometric property of the local state space, known as strong self-duality. This result is seen to be a special case of a general theorem, which states that a broad class of entangled states in probabilistic theories-including, by extension, all bipartite classical and quantum states-cannot violate macroscopic locality. Finally, our results show that models exist that are locally almost indistinguishable from quantum mechanics, but can nevertheless generate maximally nonlocal correlations.

  16. Limits on same-day billing in Medicaid hinders integration of behavioral health into the medical home model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roby, Dylan H; Jones, Erynne E

    2016-02-01

    The potential expansion of insurance coverage through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 can facilitate the reduction of access barriers and improved quality for behavioral health care. More than 5 million of the newly insured are expected to have mental health and substance use disorders. In addition, state and federal efforts to integrate behavioral and medical health needs through patient-centered medical home models and innovations in payment strategies provide an unprecedented opportunity to use federal financial support to improve not only access to care, but also improve quality through active care coordination, use of interdisciplinary teams, colocating services, and engaging in warm hand-offs between providers in the same setting. These potential advances are hindered in 24 different states because of Medicaid payment policy, with 7 explicitly limiting the ability to reimburse for physical health and behavioral health services on the same day for all providers. Without the ability for providers to be reimbursed for different services on the same day to improve behavioral and medical health care coordination, these states could be limited in their ability to improve care via patient-centered approaches and interdisciplinary team-based care that would involve physicians, clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, and other mental health professionals. Limits on same-day billing in Medicaid programs could impact up to 36.7 million people in 24 states, which is approximately 52.6% of all Medicaid enrollees. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  17. 75 FR 74755 - Product Change-Parcel Return Service Negotiated Service Agreement

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-01

    ... POSTAL SERVICE Product Change--Parcel Return Service Negotiated Service Agreement AGENCY: Postal.... SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The United States Postal Service[supreg] hereby gives notice that on November 17, 2010, it filed with the Postal Regulatory Commission a Request of the United States Postal Service to...

  18. DETERMINATION OF THE TIME LIMITS OF ELIGIBILITY IN A STATE OF EXTREME NECESSITY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vyacheslav Victorovich Naumov

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Up to now the limits of eligibility of extreme necessity were not the subject of independent research.The problems of definition of the time limits of p eligibility are considered in this article based on the scientific and monographic literature analysis. Relevance of the considered matter is defined by the fact that the correct establishment of time limits of eligibility of act is of great importance in the law enforcement activity in order to establish the non-delinquency of act in state of extreme necessity. The purpose of this research is the analysis of definition of time limits of extreme necessity eligibility and drawing proposals on this basis for improvement of legislative regulations and existing laws enforcement efficiency with regards to extreme necessity. Research methods: dialectic, formal-logical, system. The author empha-sizes the eligibility limits of admissible harm and the temporary limits. When determining the time limits the author emphasizes the following criteria: the value of danger, intensity of actions, and also identifies an "initial" and "final" moments in the defense of legally protected interests. The improvement of the existing legisla-tion was proposed based on the carried-out analysis.

  19. On Two-Level State-Dependent Routing Polling Systems with Mixed Service

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guan Zheng

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Based on priority differentiation and efficiency of the system, we consider an N+1 queues’ single-server two-level polling system which consists of one key queue and N normal queues. The novel contribution of the present paper is that we consider that the server just polls active queues with customers waiting in the queue. Furthermore, key queue is served with exhaustive service and normal queues are served with 1-limited service in a parallel scheduling. For this model, we derive an expression for the probability generating function of the joint queue length distribution at polling epochs. Based on these results, we derive the explicit closed-form expressions for the mean waiting time. Numerical examples demonstrate that theoretical and simulation results are identical and the new system is efficient both at key queue and normal queues.

  20. CURRENT STATE ANALYSIS OF AUTOMATIC BLOCK SYSTEM DEVICES, METHODS OF ITS SERVICE AND MONITORING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. M. Beznarytnyy

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose. Development of formalized description of automatic block system of numerical code based on the analysis of characteristic failures of automatic block system and procedure of its maintenance. Methodology. For this research a theoretical and analytical methods have been used. Findings. Typical failures of the automatic block systems were analyzed, as well as basic reasons of failure occur were found out. It was determined that majority of failures occurs due to defects of the maintenance system. Advantages and disadvantages of the current service technology of automatic block system were analyzed. Works that can be automatized by means of technical diagnostics were found out. Formal description of the numerical code of automatic block system as a graph in the state space of the system was carried out. Originality. The state graph of the numerical code of automatic block system that takes into account gradual transition from the serviceable condition to the loss of efficiency was offered. That allows selecting diagnostic information according to attributes and increasing the effectiveness of recovery operations in the case of a malfunction. Practical value. The obtained results of analysis and proposed the state graph can be used as the basis for the development of new means of diagnosing devices for automatic block system, which in turn will improve the efficiency and service of automatic block system devices in general.

  1. Magneto-conductance fingerprints of purely quantum states in the open quantum dot limit

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mendoza, Michel; Ujevic, Sebastian

    2012-06-01

    We present quantum magneto-conductance simulations, at the quantum low energy condition, to study the open quantum dot limit. The longitudinal conductance G(E,B) of spinless and non-interacting electrons is mapped as a function of the magnetic field B and the energy E of the electrons. The quantum dot linked to the semi-infinite leads is tuned by quantum point contacts of variable width w. We analyze the transition from a quantum wire to an open quantum dot and then to an effective closed system. The transition, as a function of w, occurs in the following sequence: evolution of quasi-Landau levels to Fano resonances and quasi-bound states between the quasi-Landau levels, followed by the formation of crossings that evolve to anti-crossings inside the quasi-Landau level region. After that, Fano resonances are created between the quasi-Landau states with the final generation of resonant tunneling peaks. By comparing the G(E,B) maps, we identify the closed and open-like limits of the system as a function of the applied magnetic field. These results were used to build quantum openness diagrams G(w,B). Also, these maps allow us to determine the w-limit value from which we can qualitatively relate the closed system properties to the open one. The above analysis can be used to identify single spinless particle effects in experimental measurements of the open quantum dot limit.

  2. Magneto-conductance fingerprints of purely quantum states in the open quantum dot limit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mendoza, Michel; Ujevic, Sebastian

    2012-01-01

    We present quantum magneto-conductance simulations, at the quantum low energy condition, to study the open quantum dot limit. The longitudinal conductance G(E,B) of spinless and non-interacting electrons is mapped as a function of the magnetic field B and the energy E of the electrons. The quantum dot linked to the semi-infinite leads is tuned by quantum point contacts of variable width w. We analyze the transition from a quantum wire to an open quantum dot and then to an effective closed system. The transition, as a function of w, occurs in the following sequence: evolution of quasi-Landau levels to Fano resonances and quasi-bound states between the quasi-Landau levels, followed by the formation of crossings that evolve to anti-crossings inside the quasi-Landau level region. After that, Fano resonances are created between the quasi-Landau states with the final generation of resonant tunneling peaks. By comparing the G(E,B) maps, we identify the closed and open-like limits of the system as a function of the applied magnetic field. These results were used to build quantum openness diagrams G(w,B). Also, these maps allow us to determine the w-limit value from which we can qualitatively relate the closed system properties to the open one. The above analysis can be used to identify single spinless particle effects in experimental measurements of the open quantum dot limit. (paper)

  3. Blood banking services in India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sardana, V N

    1996-01-01

    India's health care sector has made impressive strides toward providing health for all by the year 2000. That progress, however, has not been supported by a modern transfusion services network which continues to improve itself. In India, blood collection, storage, and delivery occur mainly in blood banks attached to hospitals, most of which are under central and state government controls. A significant portion of blood banking activity is also done by voluntary agencies and private sector blood banks. A study found the blood transfusion services infrastructure to be highly decentralized and lacking of many critical resources; an overall shortage of blood, especially from volunteer donors; limited and erratic testing facilities; an extremely limited blood component production/availability/use; and a shortage of health care professionals in the field of transfusion services. Infrastructural modernization and the technical upgrading of skills in the blood banks would, however, provide India with a dynamic transfusion services network. The safety of blood transfusion, the national blood safety program, HIV testing facilities, modernization of blood banks, the rational use of blood, program management, manpower development, the legal framework, voluntary blood donation, and a 1996 Supreme Court judgement on the need to focus greater attention upon the blood program are discussed.

  4. Mapping the Coastline Limits of the Mexican State Sinaloa Using GPS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vazquez, G. E.

    2007-12-01

    This research work presents the delimitation of the coastline limits of Sinaloa (one of the richest states of northwestern Mexico). In order to achieve this big task, it was required to use GPS (Global Positioning System) together with leveling spirit measurements. Based on the appropriate selection of the cited measurement techniques, the objective was to map the Sinaloa's state coastline to have the cartography of approximate 1600 km of littoral. The GPS measurements were performed and referred with respect to a GPS network located across the state. This GPS network consists of at least one first-order-site at each of the sixteen counties that constitute the state, and three to four second-order-sites of the ten counties of the state surrounded by sea. The leveling spirit measurements were referred to local benchmarks pre-established by the Mexican agency SEMARNAT (SEcretaría Del Medio Ambiente y Recursos NATurales). Within the main specifications of the GPS measurements and equipment, we used geodetic-dual-frequency GPS receivers in kinematic mode for both base stations (first and second order sites of the GPS state network) and rover stations (points forming the state littoral) with 5-sec log-rate interval and 10 deg cut-off angle. The GPS data processing was performed using the commercial software Trimble Geomatics Office (TGO) with Double Differences (DD) in post-processing mode. To this point, the field measurements had been totally covered including the cartography (scale 1:1000) and this includes the specifications and appropriate labeling according to the Mexican norm NOM-146-SEMARNAT-2005.

  5. Using simplified Chaos Theory to manage nursing services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haigh, Carol A

    2008-04-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the part simplified chaos theory could play in the management of nursing services. As nursing care becomes more complex, practitioners need to become familiar with business planning and objective time management. There are many time-limited methods that facilitate this type of planning but few that can help practitioners to forecast the end-point outcome of the service they deliver. A growth model was applied to a specialist service to plot service trajectory. Components of chaos theory can play a role in forecasting service outcomes and consequently the impact upon the management of such services. The ability to (1) track the trajectory of a service and (2) manipulate that trajectory by introducing new variables can allow managers to forward plan for service development and to evaluate the effectiveness of a service by plotting its end-point state.

  6. 31 CFR 281.7 - Limitations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Limitations. 281.7 Section 281.7 Money and Finance: Treasury Regulations Relating to Money and Finance (Continued) FISCAL SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SERVICE FOREIGN EXCHANGE OPERATIONS § 281.7 Limitations. The...

  7. Advance reactor and fuel-cycle systems--potentials and limitations for United States utilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zebroski, E.L.; Williams, R.F.

    1979-01-01

    This paper reviews the potential benefits and limitations of advance reactor and fuel-cycle systems for United States utilities. The results of the review of advanced technologies show that for the near and midterm, the only advance reactor and fuel-cycle system with significant potential for United States utilities is the current LWR, and evolutionary, not revolutionary, enhancements. For the long term, the liquid-metal breeder reactor continues to be the most promising advance nuclear option. The major factors leading to this conclusion are summarized

  8. National Characteristics of Emergency Medical Services Responses for Older Adults in the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duong, Hieu V; Herrera, Lauren Nicholas; Moore, Justin Xavier; Donnelly, John; Jacobson, Karen E; Carlson, Jestin N; Mann, N Clay; Wang, Henry E

    2018-01-01

    Older adults, those aged 65 and older, frequently require emergency care. However, only limited national data describe the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) care provided to older adults. We sought to determine the characteristics of EMS care provided to older adults in the United States. We used data from the 2014 National Emergency Medical Services Information System (NEMSIS), encompassing EMS response data from 46 States and territories. We excluded EMS responses for children older adults as age ≥65 years. We compared patient demographics (age, sex, race, primary payer), response characteristics (dispatch time, location type, time intervals), and clinical course (clinical impression, injury, procedures, medications) between older and younger adult EMS emergency 9-1-1 responses. During the study period there were 20,212,245 EMS emergency responses. Among the 16,116,219 adult EMS responses, there were 6,569,064 (40.76%) older and 9,547,155 (59.24%) younger adults. Older EMS patients were more likely to be white and the EMS incident to be located in healthcare facilities (clinic, hospital, nursing home). Compared with younger patients, older EMS patients were more likely to present with syncope (5.68% vs. 3.40%; OR 1.71; CI: 1.71-1.72), cardiac arrest/rhythm disturbance (3.27% vs. 1.69%; OR 1.97; CI: 1.96-1.98), stroke (2.18% vs. 0.74%; OR 2.99; CI: 2.96-3.02) and shock (0.77% vs. 0.38%; OR 2.02; CI: 2.00-2.04). Common EMS interventions performed on older persons included intravenous access (32.02%), 12-lead ECG (14.37%), CPR (0.87%), and intubation (2.00%). The most common EMS drugs administered to older persons included epinephrine, atropine, furosemide, amiodarone, and albuterol or ipratropium. One of every three U.S. EMS emergency responses involves older adults. EMS personnel must be prepared to care for the older patient.

  9. Application of limit state design to outdoor important civil engineering reinforced concrete structures in nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-01-01

    As for the basic concept and the procedure of the aseismatic design of nuclear power structures, it is the present state to verify the safety by allowable stress design method, but the necessity of considering the limit state in the safety verification of these structures has been pointed out. For the purpose of clarifying the technique and procedure when limit state design method is applied to the aseismatic design of important civil engineering structures in outdoors of nuclear power stations and contributing to the rationalization of aseismatic design, aiming at completing the safety verification manual for designers, as the research on the standardization of the aseismatic design of A class civil engineering structures considering the limit state, the deliberation of the contents of research has been carried out. The outline of the manual expected to be published soon is described. The items of research, the constitution of the manual, the features of the manual, the basic concept of safety verification, the calculation of design seismic load, the method of verification for reinforced concrete structures and the verifying experiment are described. (K.I.)

  10. 31 CFR Appendix C to Subpart A of... - United States Customs Service

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false United States Customs Service C Appendix C to Subpart A of Part 1 Money and Finance: Treasury Office of the Secretary of the Treasury... Houston, TX 77029. Phone: (713) 985-6712; FAX: (713) 985-6705. St. Louis: 4477 Woodson Road St. Louis, MO...

  11. 50 CFR 20.107 - Seasons, limits, and shooting hours for tundra swans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Seasons, limits, and shooting hours for tundra swans. 20.107 Section 20.107 Wildlife and Fisheries UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR (CONTINUED) TAKING, POSSESSION, TRANSPORTATION, SALE, PURCHASE, BARTER, EXPORTATION, AND IMPORTATION OF WILDLIFE AND PLANTS ...

  12. Pregnant adolescent women's perceptions of depression and psychiatric services in the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bledsoe, Sarah E; Rizo, Cynthia F; Wike, Traci L; Killian-Farrell, Candace; Wessel, Julia; Bellows, Anne-Marie O; Doernberg, Alison

    2017-10-01

    Adolescent mothers and their children are at high-risk for depression and the associated negative educational, social, health, and economic outcomes. However, few pregnant adolescent women with depression receive psychiatric services, especially low-income or racial/ethnic minority adolescent women. This qualitative study explores perceptions of depression, psychiatric services, and barriers to accessing services in a sample of low-income, pregnant racial/ethnic minority adolescent women. Our goal was to better understand the experiences of depression during pregnancy for these vulnerable adolescent women, and thereby improve their engagement and retention in services for perinatal depression. We recruited 20 pregnant adolescent women who screened positive for depression from 2 public health prenatal clinics in the southeastern United States. Participants were low-income and primarily racial/ethnic minority women between 14 and 20 years old. Data were collected through individual in-depth, ethnographically informed interviews. Generally, participants lacked experience with psychiatric services and did not recognize their symptoms as depression. However, participants perceived a need for mood improvement and were interested in engaging in services that incorporated their perspective and openly addressed stigma. Participants reported practical and psychological barriers to service engagement, but identified few cultural barriers. Family perceptions of psychiatric services served as both a barrier and support. Adolescent women are more likely to engage in psychiatric services if those services reduce practical and psychological barriers, promise relief from the symptoms perceived as most meaningful, and address underlying causes of depression. Culture may affect Latina adolescent women's perceptions of depression and services. Copyright © 2017 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. The State of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems in Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mould-Millman, Nee-Kofi; Dixon, Julia M; Sefa, Nana; Yancey, Arthur; Hollong, Bonaventure G; Hagahmed, Mohamed; Ginde, Adit A; Wallis, Lee A

    2017-06-01

    Introduction Little is known about the existence, distribution, and characteristics of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) systems in Africa, or the corresponding epidemiology of prehospital illness and injury. A survey was conducted between 2013 and 2014 by distributing a detailed EMS system questionnaire to experts in paper and electronic versions. The questionnaire ascertained EMS systems' jurisdiction, operations, finance, clinical care, resources, and regulatory environment. The discovery of respondents with requisite expertise occurred in multiple phases, including snowball sampling, a review of published scientific literature, and a rigorous search of the Internet. The survey response rate was 46%, and data represented 49 of 54 (91%) African countries. Twenty-five EMS systems were identified and distributed among 16 countries (30% of African countries). There was no evidence of EMS systems in 33 (61%) countries. A total of 98,574,731 (8.7%) of the African population were serviced by at least one EMS system in 2012. The leading causes of EMS transport were (in order of decreasing frequency): injury, obstetric, respiratory, cardiovascular, and gastrointestinal complaints. Nineteen percent of African countries had government-financed EMS systems and 26% had a toll-free public access telephone number. Basic emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and Basic Life Support (BLS)-equipped ambulances were the most common cadre of provider and ambulance level, respectively (84% each). Emergency Medical Services systems exist in one-third of African countries. Injury and obstetric complaints are the leading African prehospital conditions. Only a minority (<9.0%) of Africans have coverage by an EMS system. Most systems were predominantly BLS, government operated, and fee-for-service. Mould-Millman NK , Dixon JM , Sefa N , Yancey A , Hollong BG , Hagahmed M , Ginde AA , Wallis LA . The state of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) systems in Africa. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2017;32(3):273-283.

  14. 31 CFR 500.585 - Payments for services rendered by North Korea to United States aircraft authorized.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... North Korea to United States aircraft authorized. 500.585 Section 500.585 Money and Finance: Treasury... TREASURY FOREIGN ASSETS CONTROL REGULATIONS Licenses, Authorizations and Statements of Licensing Policy § 500.585 Payments for services rendered by North Korea to United States aircraft authorized. Payments...

  15. Facilitating Fresh: State Laws Supporting School Gardens Are Associated With Use of Garden-Grown Produce in School Nutrition Services Programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turner, Lindsey; Leider, Julien; Piekarz, Elizabeth; Schermbeck, Rebecca M; Merlo, Caitlin; Brener, Nancy; Chriqui, Jamie F

    2017-06-01

    To examine whether state laws are associated with the presence of school gardens and the use of garden-grown produce in school nutrition services programs. Nationally representative data from the School Health Policies and Practices Study 2014 were combined with objectively coded state law data regarding school gardens. Outcomes were: (1) the presence of a school garden at each school (n = 419 schools), and (2) the use of garden-grown items in the school nutrition services program. Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine each outcome. Contextual covariates included school level, size, locale, US Census region, student race/ethnic composition, and percentage of students eligible for free and reduced-priced meals. State law was not significantly associated with whether schools had a garden, but it was associated with whether schools used garden-grown items in nutrition services programs (odds ratio, 4.21; P garden-grown items in nutrition services programs was 15.4% among schools in states with a supportive law, vs 4.4% among schools in states with no law. State laws that support school gardens may facilitate the use of garden-grown items in school nutrition service programs. Additional research is needed regarding the types of messaging that might be most effective for motivating school administrators to appreciate the value of school gardens. In addition, another area for further research pertains to scaling garden programs for broader reach. Copyright © 2017 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. All rights reserved.

  16. Characterization of the industrial irradiation services operating in the state of Rio de Janeiro

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oliveira, J.S.; Campos, I.C.; Silva, J F.; Gomes, A.S.

    2017-01-01

    Industrial irradiation is the practice that, making use of electron beams or gamma rays, provides benefits such as sterilization of hospital products, food preservation, treatment of precious stones, the aging of cachaça and the preservation of works of art. The objective of the work is to characterize the overview of industrial irradiation services operating in the state of Rio de Janeiro (RJ). The methodology involved a survey of the installations licensed by the Brazilian National Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN) for the industrial irradiation operation in the state. Technical visits were organized at the Radiological Protection Services of all detected facilities. It was found that there are only two installations authorized by CNEN in RJ and both use electron beam irradiation. Only one of them acts with the commercialization of the service, employing a 10-mega electron-volt double beam from two linear particle accelerators. The second facility uses the service for its own purposes, equipped with a single accelerator, single-beam 600-kilo electron-volt emitter. It is concluded that, numerically, there are few industrial irradiation facilities in RJ. Based on characteristics such as beam penetrability, the nature of the source, logistic cost and radiation protection measures, these facilities prefer to make use of accelerators (electron beams). It should be noted that if the only company that currently offers the service to third parties decides to close its activities, manufacturers, suppliers, and consequently the population can suffer some impact, given the absence of options in the market

  17. Consumption of alcohol in mental health services in Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luciane Prado Kantorski

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Alcoholism has been a major concern of public health worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO, approximately 76.3 million people presented problems of alcohol abuse in 2004. Therefore, the risks arising from the association of psychiatric disorders with alcohol consumption should also be considered in the context of mental health services. Objective: This study aimed to analyze alcohol consumption by the users of Therapeutic Residential Services- SRT and Psychosocial Care Centers- CAPS in five municipalities in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Methodology: The present study is part of a research entitled Rehabilitation Networks - REDESUL, carried out from September to December 2009 in five municipalities of the aforementioned Brazilian state. The total sample comprised 392 users: 143 from the SRT and 270 from the CAPS services, with intersection of 21 members. Results: The results showed that of the 392 care service users, only 29 had consumed alcohol during the four weeks prior to the survey. The majority of these 29 users were between 31 and 59 years old, male, single, and only n = 13 (48.28% reported being aware of their psychiatric disorders, with prevalence of schizophrenia n = 7 (24.13% followed by bipolar disorders n = 3 (10.34%. Conclusion: It is necessary that the mental health teams are also trained to work with alcohol users, regardless of the type of mental health service they work for, and that they develop actions in relation to guidance on alcohol consumption, treatment adherence, rehabilitation, and integration of users to the community.

  18. Evaluating the effectiveness of Washington state repeated job search services on the employment rate of prime-age female welfare recipients☆

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsiao, Cheng; Shen, Yan; Wang, Boqing; Weeks, Greg

    2014-01-01

    This paper uses an unbalanced panel dataset to evaluate how repeated job search services (JSS) and personal characteristics affect the employment rate of the prime-age female welfare recipients in the State of Washington. We propose a transition probability model to take into account issues of sample attrition, sample refreshment and duration dependence. We also generalize Honoré and Kyriazidou’s [Honoré, B.E., Kyriazidou, E., 2000. Panel data discrete choice models with lagged dependent variables. Econometrica 68 (4), 839–874] conditional maximum likelihood estimator to allow for the presence of individual-specific effects. A limited information test is suggested to test for selection issues in non-experimental data. The specification tests indicate that the (conditional on the set of the confounding variables considered) assumptions of no selection due to unobservables and/or no unobserved individual-specific effects are not violated. Our findings indicate that the first job search service does have positive and significant impacts on the employment rate. However, providing repeated JSS to the same client has no significant impact. Further, we find that there are significant experience-enhancing effects. These findings suggest that providing one job search services training to individuals may have a lasting impact on raising their employment rates. PMID:26052178

  19. Overcoming Medicaid Reimbursement Barriers to Funding School Nursing Services for Low-Income Children with Asthma

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malcarney, Mary-Beth; Horton, Katherine; Seiler, Naomi

    2016-01-01

    Background: School nurses can provide direct services for children with asthma, educate, and reinforce treatment recommendations to children and their families, and coordinate the school-wide response to students' asthma emergencies. Unfortunately, school-based health services today depend on an unreliable patchwork of funding. Limited state and…

  20. State laws and the provision of family planning and abortion services in 1985.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sollom, T; Donovan, P

    1985-01-01

    65 laws relating to fertility were enacted by the 49 state legislatures that held sessions in 1985. This was the largest enacted since 1973, and the 2nd largest total since. Some of the 1985 abortion laws are designed to protect abortion rights. Several states in the US took action to severely punish the perpetrators of violence against abortion clinics. Lesislation dealing with the delivery of family planning services was subjected to public funding restrictions in 1985. Attempts have been made recently on the federal level to prevent Title X recipients from being provided with information on abortion in their pregnancy counseling sessions. These actions are similar to some of the state laws attempting to reach the same end. Many states included funds for family planning in general appropriations bills. Differences among legislators regarding the right of minors to consent to reproductive health care have led to 2 patterns of response: 1) affirmation of the right of minors to receive family planning services on their own consent; or 2) laws mandating parental involvement in a minor's abortion decision. The most troubling aspect of the fertility related legislation endated in 1985 is the effort by a number of legislatures to attach restrictions on abortion counseling and referral to family planning appropriations bills. In 1985, state laws were enacted to regulate the disposal of fetal remains, to prohibit the use of fetal remains for commercial purposes and to impose criminal sanctions for causing the miscarriage of a fetus during a felony.

  1. 75 FR 78928 - Limited Service Domestic Voyage Load Lines for River Barges on Lake Michigan, Delay of Effective...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-17

    ...-AA17 Limited Service Domestic Voyage Load Lines for River Barges on Lake Michigan, Delay of Effective Date AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. ACTION: Notice of delay of effective date and reopening of the comment... 46 CFR part 45 as amended by the final rule published in the November 18, 2010, Federal Register (75...

  2. Exploring the Possibilities and Limitations of Service-Learning: A Critical Analysis of College Student Narratives about HIV/AIDS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Susan Robb; LePeau, Lucy A.; Robbins, Claire K.

    2013-01-01

    This article reports the results of a study that explored the possibilities and limitations of service-learning by deconstructing the narratives about HIV/AIDS that emerged from five college students who participated in an alternative spring break program. Employing a critical (Rhoads, 1997) and anti-foundational (Butin, 2010) approach to inquiry,…

  3. Structural Phenomenon of Cement-Based Composite Elements in Ultimate Limit State

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. Iskhakov

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Cement-based composite materials have minimum of two components, one of which has higher strength compared to the other. Such materials include concrete, reinforced concrete (RC, and ferrocement, applied in single- or two-layer RC elements. This paper discusses experimental and theoretical results, obtained by the authors in the recent three decades. The authors have payed attention to a structural phenomenon that many design features (parameters, properties, etc. at ultimate limit state (ULS of a structure are twice higher (or lower than at initial loading state. This phenomenon is evident at material properties, structures (or their elements, and static and/or dynamic structural response. The phenomenon is based on two ideas that were developed by first author: quasi-isotropic state of a structure at ULS and minimax principle. This phenomenon is supported by experimental and theoretical results, obtained for various structures, like beams, frames, spatial structures, and structural joints under static or/and dynamic loadings. This study provides valuable indicators for experiments’ planning and estimation of structural state. The phenomenon provides additional equation(s for calculating parameters that are usually obtained experimentally and can lead to developing design concepts and RC theory, in which the number of empirical design coefficients will be minimal.

  4. Matrix-Geometric Method for Queueing Model with State-Dependent Arrival of an Unreliable Server and PH Service

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M.ReniSagaya Raj

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we consider a state-dependent queueing system in which the system is subject to random breakdowns. Customer arrive at the system randomly following a Poisson process with state-dependent rates. Service times follows PH distribution and repair times are exponentially distributed. The server may fail to service with probability depending on the number of customer completed since the last repair. The main result of this paper is the matrix-geometric solution of the steady-state queue length from which many performance measurements of this queueing system like the stationary queue length distribution, waiting time distribution and the distribution of regular busy period, system utilization are obtained. Numerical examples are presented for both cases.

  5. Addressing Adolescent Depression in Schools: Evaluation of an In-Service Training for School Staff in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valdez, Carmen R.; Budge, Stephanie L.

    2012-01-01

    This study evaluated an adolescent depression in-service training for school staff in the United States. A total of 252 school staff (e.g., teachers, principals, counselors) completed assessments prior to and following the in-service and a subsample of these staff participated in focus groups following the in-service and three months later.…

  6. Contribution to the Study of the State Transport Service in Roman Administration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raquel Escutia-Romero

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The cursus publicus was the government transportation system in the Roman Empire. It made government communication, travel by government officials and the transport of certain State goods such as tax money, metals (gold and silver and army equipment possible. This work seeks to illustrate the origin of this official service, the highways used, the infrastructure (mansiones and mutationes, the animals and wagons exchanged periodically along the way, the authorization for the use of cursus publicus administration, the extremely restricted issue of warrants for the use of the cursus publicus (evectiones, the funding of services and the irregularities and abuse of the system and the necessary legislation to avoid and condemn such acts.

  7. Impact of Medicaid Managed Care on Illinois's Acute Health Services Expenditures for Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamaki, Kiyoshi; Wing, Coady; Mitchell, Dale; Owen, Randall; Heller, Tamar

    2018-01-01

    States have increasingly transitioned Medicaid enrollees with disabilities from fee-for-service (FFS) to Medicaid Managed Care (MMC), intending to reduce state Medicaid spending and to provide better access to health services. Yet, previous studies on the impact of MMC are limited and findings are inconsistent. We analyzed the impact of MMC on…

  8. 78 FR 17652 - Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc. v. Public Service Company of New Mexico...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-03-22

    ... Generation and Transmission Association, Inc. v. Public Service Company of New Mexico; Notice of Complaint... CFR 385.206 and 18 CFR 385.212, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc. (Complainant), filed a complaint against the Public Service Company of New Mexico (Respondent or PNM) alleging that...

  9. Minority Pre-service Teachers' and Faculty Training on Climate Change Education in Delaware State University

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozbay, G.; Fox-Lykens, R.; Veron, D. E.; Rogers, M.; Merrill, J.; Harcourt, P.; Mead, H.

    2015-12-01

    Delaware State University is working toward infusing undergraduate education with climate change science and enhancing the climate change learning content of pre-service teacher preparation programs as part of the MADE-CLEAR project (www.madeclear.org). Faculty development workshops have been conducted to prepare and educate a cadre of faculty from different disciplines in global climate science literacy. Following the workshops, the faculty participants have integrated climate literacy tenets into their existing curriculum. Follow up meetings have helped the faculty members to use specific content in their curriculum such as greenhouse gases, atmospheric CO2, sea level rise, etc. Additional training provided to the faculty participants in pedagogical methods of climate change instruction to identify common misconceptions and barriers to student understanding. Some pre-service teachers were engaged in summer internships and learned how to become messenger of climate change science by the state parks staff during the summer. Workshops were offered to other pre-service teachers to teach them specific climate change topics with enhanced hands-on laboratory activities. The participants were provided examples of lesson plans and guided to develop their own lesson plans and present them. Various pedagogical methods have been explored for teaching climate change content to the participants. The pre-service teachers found the climate content very challenging and confusing. Training activities were modified to focus on targeted topics and modeling of pedagogical techniques for the faculty and pre-service teachers. Program evaluation confirms that the workshop participant show improved understanding of the workshop materials by the participants if they were introduced few climate topics. Learning how to use hands-on learning tools and preparing lesson plans are two of the challenges successfully implemented by the pre-service teachers. Our next activity includes pre-service

  10. Compliance with technical standards for radiological protection at radiation therapy services in Sao Paulo State, Brazil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eduardo, Maria Bernadete de Paula; Novaes, Hillegonda Maria Dutilh

    2004-01-01

    Radiation therapy services provide essential therapeutic procedures for cancer, one of the main causes of population morbidity and mortality. Despite their importance in the health system and their potential risks due to the use of ionizing radiation, there are few studies on such services. We evaluated compliance with technical standards for radiological protection in radiation therapy services in Sao Paulo State, Brazil. Forty-nine services were studied in 2000 through interviews with technical staff. Typologies of performance profiles focusing on structure and process variables were constructed and services compared. Important differences were observed in the services' positions in the health care system, level of complexity, and geographic distribution, with better average performance in structural conditions but very inadequate performance in patient protection, indicating the need for more effective health surveillance. (author)

  11. Can quantum transition state theory be defined as an exact t = 0+ limit?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jang, Seogjoo; Voth, Gregory A.

    2016-02-01

    The definition of the classical transition state theory (TST) as a t → 0+ limit of the flux-side time correlation function relies on the assumption that simultaneous measurement of population and flux is a well defined physical process. However, the noncommutativity of the two measurements in quantum mechanics makes the extension of such a concept to the quantum regime impossible. For this reason, quantum TST (QTST) has been generally accepted as any kind of quantum rate theory reproducing the TST in the classical limit, and there has been a broad consensus that no unique QTST retaining all the properties of TST can be defined. Contrary to this widely held view, Hele and Althorpe (HA) [J. Chem. Phys. 138, 084108 (2013)] recently suggested that a true QTST can be defined as the exact t → 0+ limit of a certain kind of quantum flux-side time correlation function and that it is equivalent to the ring polymer molecular dynamics (RPMD) TST. This work seeks to question and clarify certain assumptions underlying these suggestions and their implications. First, the time correlation function used by HA as a starting expression is not related to the kinetic rate constant by virtue of linear response theory, which is the first important step in relating a t = 0+ limit to a physically measurable rate. Second, a theoretical analysis calls into question a key step in HA's proof which appears not to rely on an exact quantum mechanical identity. The correction of this makes the true t = 0+ limit of HA's QTST different from the RPMD-TST rate expression, but rather equal to the well-known path integral quantum transition state theory rate expression for the case of centroid dividing surface. An alternative quantum rate expression is then formulated starting from the linear response theory and by applying a recently developed formalism of real time dynamics of imaginary time path integrals [S. Jang, A. V. Sinitskiy, and G. A. Voth, J. Chem. Phys. 140, 154103 (2014)]. It is shown

  12. Services to patients with dual diagnoses: findings from Washington's mental health service system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ouimette, Paige; Jemelka, Ron; Hall, Judy; Brimner, Karl; Krupski, Antoinette; Stark, Kenneth

    2007-01-01

    This study examined how Washington State's (WA) mental health treatment system provided services to patients with substance use disorders or dual diagnoses at several stages of care: crisis commitment, hospitalization, and outpatient treatment. A total of 30 key informants from urban and rural areas were surveyed between February and July 2004 using semi-structured interviews. Key informants represented direct service providers to chief operating officers. Themes, consensus, and disagreements were summarized. Results indicated that best practices are not consistently implemented and administrative and provider barriers hinder provision of more effective care. Findings highlight that work on how to best implement evidence-based practices is critical to improving care of dual diagnosis patients. Limitations of the study are noted as well as future research directions.

  13. Children with paralytic poliomyelitis: utilization of physiotherapy services in Zamfara State, Nigeria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ogwumike, Omoyemi O; Kaka, Bashir; Adeniyi, Ade F

    2013-02-01

    Physiotherapy is usually indicated for health promotion and the rehabilitation of individuals with paralytic poliomyelitis. The endemic nature of this condition in children in Zamfara State, Nigeria necessitated investigation into the utilization of physiotherapy services by parents or primary caregivers of children affected with polio in this sub-region. Parents and primary caregivers of children with paralytic poliomyelitis were recruited using a purposive multi-stage sampling procedure in a cross-sectional survey. Factors associated with the utilization of physiotherapy services were assessed based on questions extracted from a 4-part, 52-item structured questionnaire originally designed for a study which investigated knowledge, attitude, and beliefs of parents of children with paralytic poliomyelitis. A total of 217 participants were included in this study. The mean age was 32.29 ± 9.89 years and the mean knowledge of polio score was 62.0 ± 17.3%. The mean age of the children with paralytic poliomyelitis was 6.41 ± 2.50 years. Only 27.2% of the parents or primary caregivers had utilized physiotherapy service for their children at some point. No association existed between utilization of physiotherapy service and 'knowledge of paralytic poliomyelitis', 'employment status', and 'family income' of respondents. Explanations for low utilization of physiotherapy services for children with paralytic poliomyelitis by parents or primary caregivers are discussed.

  14. No survival of Nonlocalilty of fermionic quantum states with alpha vacuum in the infinite acceleration limit

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kwon, Younghun, E-mail: yyhkwon@hanyang.ac.kr

    2015-09-02

    In this article, we investigate the nonlocal behavior of the quantum state of fermionic system having the alpha vacuum. We evaluate the maximum violation of CHSH inequality in the quantum state. Even when the maximally entangled quantum state is initially shared it cannot violate the CHSH inequality, regardless of any alpha vacuum, when the infinite acceleration is applied. It means that the nonlocality of the quantum state in fermionic system with the alpha vacuum cannot survive in the infinite acceleration limit.

  15. 78 FR 63521 - Product Change-Parcel Select & Parcel Return Service Negotiated Service Agreement

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-10-24

    ... Request of the United States Postal Service to Add Parcel Select & Parcel Return Service Contract 5 to... POSTAL SERVICE Product Change--Parcel Select & Parcel Return Service Negotiated Service Agreement.... SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The United States Postal Service[supreg] hereby gives notice that, pursuant to 39 U.S...

  16. At the Eve of Convergence? Transformations of Social Service Provision in Denmark, Germany, and the United States

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Henriksen, Lars Skov; Smith, Steven Rathgeb; Zimmer, Annette

    2012-01-01

    Increasing societal heterogeneity, changing demographics, and increasing public debt and fiscal constraints have recently challenged traditional “regime” approaches to welfare state development. Some scholars argue, against this background, that welfare states might plausibly move out of their “r......Increasing societal heterogeneity, changing demographics, and increasing public debt and fiscal constraints have recently challenged traditional “regime” approaches to welfare state development. Some scholars argue, against this background, that welfare states might plausibly move out...... state activity, namely social services and related health care. To further focus the analysis, special attention is devoted to the changing role played by the third sector in delivering services. The research design, thus, differs from most comparative welfare state research. Instead of analyzing...... a broad set of quantitative indicators in a large number of countries, it is scrutinized how some of the same problem pressures and policy ideas are being interpreted and implemented in a small number of countries within one policy area. The analysis reveals that trends of convergence—conceptualized along...

  17. A composite state method for ensemble data assimilation with multiple limited-area models

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matthew Kretschmer

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Limited-area models (LAMs allow high-resolution forecasts to be made for geographic regions of interest when resources are limited. Typically, boundary conditions for these models are provided through one-way boundary coupling from a coarser resolution global model. Here, data assimilation is considered in a situation in which a global model supplies boundary conditions to multiple LAMs. The data assimilation method presented combines information from all of the models to construct a single ‘composite state’, on which data assimilation is subsequently performed. The analysis composite state is then used to form the initial conditions of the global model and all of the LAMs for the next forecast cycle. The method is tested by using numerical experiments with simple, chaotic models. The results of the experiments show that there is a clear forecast benefit to allowing LAM states to influence one another during the analysis. In addition, adding LAM information at analysis time has a strong positive impact on global model forecast performance, even at points not covered by the LAMs.

  18. Supervisor vs. employee safety perceptions and association with future injury in US limited-service restaurant workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Yueng-Hsiang; Verma, Santosh K; Chang, Wen-Ruey; Courtney, Theodore K; Lombardi, David A; Brennan, Melanye J; Perry, Melissa J

    2012-07-01

    Many studies have found management commitment to safety to be an important construct of safety climate. This study examined the association between supervisor and employee (shared and individual) perceptions of management commitment to safety and the rate of future injuries in limited-service restaurant workers. A total of 453 participants (34 supervisors/managers and 419 employees) from 34 limited-service restaurants participated in a prospective cohort study. Employees' and managers' perceptions of management commitment to safety and demographic variables were collected at the baseline. The survey questions were made available in three languages: English, Spanish, and Portuguese. For the following 12 weeks, participants reported their injury experience and weekly work hours. A multivariate negative binomial generalized estimating equation model with compound symmetry covariance structure was used to assess the association between the rate of self-reported injuries and measures of safety perceptions. There were no significant relationships between supervisor and either individual or shared employee perceptions of management commitment to safety. Only individual employee perceptions were significantly associated with future employee injury experience but not supervisor safety perceptions or shared employee perceptions. Individual employee perception of management commitment to safety is a significant predictor for future injuries in restaurant environments. A study focusing on employee perceptions would be more predictive of injury outcomes than supervisor/manager perceptions. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Does co-creation impact public service delivery? The importance of state and governance traditions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Voorberg, Willem; Bekkers, Victor; Flemig, Sophie; Timeus, Krista; Tõnurist, Piret; Tummers, L.G.

    2017-01-01

    Co-creation in public service delivery requires partnerships between citizens and civil servants. The authors argue that whether or not these partnerships will be successful depends on state and governance traditions (for example a tradition of authority sharing or consultation). These traditions

  20. Verification of communication protocols in web services model-checking service compositions

    CERN Document Server

    Tari, Zahir; Mukherjee, Anshuman

    2014-01-01

    Gathers recent advancements in the field of self-organizing wireless sensor networks and provides readers with the essential, state-of-the-art information about sensor networking. In the near future, wireless sensor networks will become an integral part of our day-to-day life. To solve different sensor networking related issues, researchers have put a great deal of effort into coming up with innovative ideas. Verification of Communication Protocols in Web Services: Model-Checking Service Compositions gathers recent advancements in the field of self-organizing wireless sensor networks and provides readers with integral information about sensor networking. It introduces current technological trends, particularly in node organization, and provides implementation details of each networking type to help readers set up sensor networks in their related job fields. In addition, it identifies the limitations of current technologies, as well as future research directions.

  1. Characteristics of steady-state plasma flow in the tokamak limiter scrape-off layer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petrov, V.G.

    1984-01-01

    Steady state plasma flow in the scrape-off layer of a toroidal limiter is discussed. The force balance along the torus minor radius is taken into account, from which follows that the plasma pressure gradient is balanced by the ponderomotive force (1/c) j-vectorxB-vector, which arises in the presence of a current density component perpendicular to the magnetic field. The limiter has an important effect on the electric current flow in the scrape-off layer. It is shown that the electric potential and plasma density values differ from one side of the limiter to the other; this leads to plasma drift along the minor radius. The characteristic length of change in the plasma density is found to be of the order of the ion cyclotron radius calculated for a poloidal magnetic field. (author)

  2. Superconducting states in strongly correlated systems with nonstandard quasiparticles and real space pairing: an unconventional Fermi-liquid limit

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Spałek

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available We use the concept of generalized (almost localized Fermi Liquid composed of nonstandard quasiparticles with spin-dependence effective masses and the effective field induced by electron correlations. This Fermi liquid is obtained within the so-called statistically-consistent Gutzwiller approximation (SGA proposed recently [cf. J. Jędrak et al., arXiv: 1008.0021] and describes electronic states of the correlated quantum liquid. Particular emphasis is put on real space pairing driven by the electronic correlations, the Fulde-Ferrell state of the heavy-fermion liquid, and the d-wave superconducting state of high temperature curate superconductors in the overdoped limit. The appropriate phase diagrams are discussed showing in particular the limits of stability of the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS type of state.

  3. Modified creep and shrinkage prediction model B3 for serviceability limit state analysis of composite slabs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gholamhoseini, Alireza

    2016-03-01

    Relatively little research has been reported on the time-dependent in-service behavior of composite concrete slabs with profiled steel decking as permanent formwork and little guidance is available for calculating long-term deflections. The drying shrinkage profile through the thickness of a composite slab is greatly affected by the impermeable steel deck at the slab soffit, and this has only recently been quantified. This paper presents the results of long-term laboratory tests on composite slabs subjected to both drying shrinkage and sustained loads. Based on laboratory measurements, a design model for the shrinkage strain profile through the thickness of a slab is proposed. The design model is based on some modifications to an existing creep and shrinkage prediction model B3. In addition, an analytical model is developed to calculate the time-dependent deflection of composite slabs taking into account the time-dependent effects of creep and shrinkage. The calculated deflections are shown to be in good agreement with the experimental measurements.

  4. The Problem of Women in the Department:  Sex and Gender Discrimination in the 1960s United States Foreign Diplomatic Service

    OpenAIRE

    McKenzie, Beatrice Loftus

    2015-01-01

    Alison Palmer, a United States Foreign Service Officer from 1959 to 1981, brought a gender equity complaint against the U.S. State Department in the late 1960s and then led a class action lawsuit by female officers that lasted until 2010.  Examining the records of Palmer’s grievances against the Department of State reveals linkages between gender, sex, and race in the U.S. Foreign Service.  U.S. Ambassadors to three African nations justified their rejection of her from their staffs by stating...

  5. Athletic training services in public secondary schools: a benchmark study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pryor, Riana R; Casa, Douglas J; Vandermark, Lesley W; Stearns, Rebecca L; Attanasio, Sarah M; Fontaine, Garrett J; Wafer, Alex M

    2015-02-01

    Authors of the most recent study of athletic training (AT) services have suggested that only 42% of secondary schools have access to athletic trainers. However, this study was limited by a small sample size and was conducted more than 10 years ago. To determine current AT services in public secondary schools. Cross-sectional study. Public secondary schools in the United States. A total of 8509 (57%) of 14,951 secondary schools from all 50 states and Washington, DC, responded to the survey. Data on AT services were collected for individual states, National Athletic Trainers' Association districts, and the nation. Of the 8509 schools that responded, 70% (n = 5930) had AT services, including full-time (n = 3145, 37%), part-time (n = 2619, 31%), and per diem (n = 199, 2%) AT services, and 27% (n = 2299) had AT services from a hospital or physical therapy clinic. A total of 4075 of 8509 schools (48%) provided coverage at all sports practices. Eighty-six percent (2,394,284/2,787,595) of athletes had access to AT services. Since the last national survey, access to AT services increased such that 70% of respondent public secondary schools provided athletic trainers at sports games or practices. Approximately one-third of all public secondary schools had full-time athletic trainers. This number must increase further to provide appropriate medical coverage at athletic practices and games for secondary school athletes.

  6. Case Study of a Service-Learning Partnership: Montana Tech and the Montana State Prison.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amtmann, John; Evans, Roberta; Powers, Jack

    2002-01-01

    As a service learning project, Montana Tech students deliver a wellness program for older inmates in Montana State Prison. Outcomes identified in student interviews included improved interpersonal skills (tact, diplomacy, communication, assertiveness) and opportunities to apply knowledge. Students recognized the value of the program for…

  7. Performance of the ocean state forecast system at Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Nair, T.M.B.; Sirisha, P.; Sandhya, K.G.; Srinivas, K.; SanilKumar, V.; Sabique, L.; Nherakkol, A.; KrishnaPrasad, B.; RakhiKumari; Jeyakumar, C.; Kaviyazhahu, K.; RameshKumar, M.; Harikumar, R.; Shenoi, S.S.C.; Nayak, S.

    The reliability of the operational Ocean State Forecast system at the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) during tropical cyclones that affect the coastline of India is described in this article. The performance...

  8. Comparing Strategies for Providing Child and Youth Mental Health Care Services in Canada, the United States, and The Netherlands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ronis, Scott T; Slaunwhite, Amanda K; Malcom, Kathryn E

    2017-11-01

    This paper reviews how child and youth mental health care services in Canada, the United States, and the Netherlands are organized and financed in order to identify systems and individual-level factors that may inhibit or discourage access to treatment for youth with mental health problems, such as public or private health insurance coverage, out-of-pocket expenses, and referral requirements for specialized mental health care services. Pathways to care for treatment of mental health problems among children and youth are conceptualized and discussed in reference to health insurance coverage and access to specialty services. We outline reforms to the organization of health care that have been introduced in recent years, and the basket of services covered by public and private insurance schemes. We conclude with a discussion of country-level opportunities to enhance access to child and youth mental health services using existing health policy levers in Canada, the United States and the Netherlands.

  9. Quality evaluation of radiopharmaceuticals in nuclear medicine services in the states of Alagoas and Sergipe - Brazil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santos, Poliane Angelo de Lucena; Andrade, Wellington Gomes de; Lima, Fernando Roberto de Andrade; Lima, Fabiana Farias de

    2011-01-01

    Radiopharmaceuticals are compounds associated with a radionuclide. They can be considered as vectors that have some specificity for an organ or a physiological or pathophysiological function. Assessing the radiopharmaceutical's quality is essential to obtain adequate images, avoiding repetition of examinations and unnecessary absorbed dose to the patient. Resolution no. 8 (RCD 38) of 06/04/2008 by Agencia Nacional de Vigilancia Sanitaria (ANVISA) states the obligation of performing a minimum of tests in the routines of nuclear medicine services (NMS). The aim of this work was to evaluate the radiochemical purity and pH of radiopharmaceuticals used in NMS in states of Alagoas and Sergipe - Brazil. Radiochemical purity was determined by thin layer chromatography where a paper Whatman and TLC were used as steady state and the solvents were used related to the appropriate radiopharmaceutical, both as recommended by the manufacturer's directions. The chromatographic strips were placed in closed containers to avoid contact with the walls. After, the strips were cut in 1cm pieces and the activity was determined in each NMS's activity calibrators. The radiopharmaceuticals pH was evaluated by using universal pH paper (Merck) and the obtained color was compared with its range of colors. It was observed that 33.34% and 2.3% of the tested radiopharmaceuticals showed PRQ (radiochemical purity) and pH values, respectively, are outside of the limits described by the manufacturers. The results show that the radiochemical purity assessment in the NMS's routine can indicate problems with a radioisotope tagging, allowing their exclusion before administration. (author)

  10. A Dental Hygiene Professional Practice Index (DHPPI) and access to oral health status and service use in the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wing, Paul; Langelier, Margaret H; Continelli, Tracey A; Battrell, Ann

    2005-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to summarize a larger study that developed a statistical index that defines the professional practice environment of dental hygienists (DHs) in the United States, and to determine the extent to which the index scores are related to the number of DHs and dentists, the utilization of dental services, and selected oral health outcomes across the 50 states. A Dental Hygiene Professional Practice Index (DHPPI) defines the professional status, supervision requirements, tasks permitted, and reimbursement options for DHs in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, as of December 31, 2001. Spearman rank order correlations between the DHPPI and numbers of oral health professionals, utilization of oral health services, and oral health outcomes in the 50 states are also presented. The analyses revealed that: There are significant differences in the legal practice environments (as reflected in the DHPPI) across the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Between 1990 and 2001, the number of DHs per capita increased by 46% in the United States, while the number of dentists per 100,000 population increased by only 10%. The DHPPI was not significantly correlated with the number of DHs or dentists in the 50 states in 2001. The DHPPI was significantly positively correlated with the salaries of DHs in 2001. The DHPPI was also significantly and positively correlated with a number of indicators of utilization of oral health services and oral health outcomes. Both access to oral health services and oral health outcomes are positively correlated with the DHPPI. This suggests that states with low DHPPI scores would be logical candidates for revised DH practice statutes and regulations to accomplish these objectives.

  11. Review of survey articles regarding medication therapy management (MTM) services/programs in the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oladapo, Abiola O; Rascati, Karen L

    2012-08-01

    To provide a summary of published survey articles regarding the provision of medication therapy management (MTM) services in the United States. A literature search was conducted to identify original articles on MTM-related surveys conducted in the United States, involving community and outpatient pharmacists, physicians, patients, or pharmacy students and published by the primary researchers who conducted the study. Search engines used included PubMed, Medline, and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (IPA). If MTM was in the keyword list, mesh heading, title, or abstract, the article was reviewed. References from these articles were searched to determine whether other relevant articles were available. A total of 405 articles were initially reviewed; however, only 32 articles met the study requirements. Of the 32 articles, 17 surveyed community/outpatient pharmacists, 3 surveyed pharmacy students, 4 surveyed physicians, and 8 surveyed patients. The survey periods varied across the different studies, with the earliest survey conducted in 2004 and the most recent survey conducted in 2009. The surveys were conducted via the telephone, US mail, interoffice mail, e-mails, Internet/Web sites, hand-delivered questionnaires, and focus groups. Despite the identified barriers to the provision of MTM services, pharmacists reportedly found it professionally rewarding to provide these services. Pharmacists claimed to have adequate clinical knowledge, experience, and access to information required to provide MTM services. Pharmacy students were of the opinion that the provision of MTM services was important to the advancement of the pharmacy profession and in providing patients with a higher level of care. Physicians supported having pharmacists adjust patients’ drug therapy and educate patients on general drug information but not in selecting patients’ drug therapy. Finally, patients suggested that alternative ways need to be explored in describing and marketing MTM

  12. Time-limited home-care reablement services for maintaining and improving the functional independence of older adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cochrane, Andy; Furlong, Mairead; McGilloway, Sinead; Molloy, David W; Stevenson, Michael; Donnelly, Michael

    2016-10-11

    Reablement, also known as restorative care, is one possible approach to home-care services for older adults at risk of functional decline. Unlike traditional home-care services, reablement is frequently time-limited (usually six to 12 weeks) and aims to maximise independence by offering an intensive multidisciplinary, person-centred and goal-directed intervention. To assess the effects of time-limited home-care reablement services (up to 12 weeks) for maintaining and improving the functional independence of older adults (aged 65 years or more) when compared to usual home-care or wait-list control group. We searched the following databases with no language restrictions during April to June 2015: the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL); MEDLINE (OvidSP); Embase (OvidSP); PsycINFO (OvidSP); ERIC; Sociological Abstracts; ProQuest Dissertations and Theses; CINAHL (EBSCOhost); SIGLE (OpenGrey); AgeLine and Social Care Online. We also searched the reference lists of relevant studies and reviews as well as contacting authors in the field. We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs), cluster randomised or quasi-randomised trials of time-limited reablement services for older adults (aged 65 years or more) delivered in their home; and incorporated a usual home-care or wait-list control group. Two authors independently assessed studies for inclusion, extracted data, assessed the risk of bias of individual studies and considered quality of the evidence using GRADE. We contacted study authors for additional information where needed. Two studies, comparing reablement with usual home-care services with 811 participants, met our eligibility criteria for inclusion; we also identified three potentially eligible studies, but findings were not yet available. One included study was conducted in Western Australia with 750 participants (mean age 82.29 years). The second study was conducted in Norway (61 participants; mean age 79 years).We are very uncertain as to

  13. Continuing social disparities despite upward trends in sexual and reproductive health service use among young women in the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hall, Kelli Stidham; Moreau, Caroline; Trussell, James

    2012-12-01

    Building upon previous work describing declining rates and socioeconomic disparities in sexual and reproductive health (SRH) service use among young women in the United States, we reexamined patterns and determinants of SRH service use in 2006-2010. We used the latest data from the National Survey of Family Growth to evaluate SRH service use including contraceptive, sexually transmitted infection (STI) and other gynecological exam services among 3780 women ages 15-24 years. We compared proportions of service use across survey years and employed multiple logistic regression to estimate the influence of time and women's sociodemographic characteristics on the likelihood of SRH service use. The proportion of women using SRH services increased from 50% (2006-2007) to 54% (2007-2008) and 57% (2008-2010) [all year odds ratios (ORs) 1.4, p valuessexually experienced women, the proportions using SRH and contraceptive services were unchanged, while STI service use increased from 22% (2006-2007) to 33% (2008-2009) (OR 1.7, confidence interval 1.1-2.4, p=.009). Differentials in service use existed across sociodemographic groups, largely with lower proportions of service use among women of social disadvantage. Our results suggest a reversal of negative trends but continuing social disparities in young women's use of SRH services in the United States. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Competition and deregulation in the electric industry. A study of organizational change: The New York State Public Service Commission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ashley, Deborah J. Cordaro

    2000-11-01

    Public organizations are formed in response to societal needs. They collect taxes, educate children, enforce laws and provide protection to the environment, the nation and consumers. One such organization is the New York State Public Service Commission. In 1907, legislation was passed to form the New York State Public Service Commission the first regulatory body of its kind in the United States. Its mission was to provide safe, reliable and reasonably priced electricity. Subsequently, this became the model that was implemented in every state in the nation. The past decade heralds an era of competition and a lessening of regulatory control. The telephone, natural gas and airline industries are in various stages of deregulation, and the electric industry is beginning down this path as well. In an environment such as this, are regulatory organizations necessary, and if they are, how can they organize to meet the new societal requirements? The case of the New York State Public Service Commission at this point in time offers a real time study of a regulatory body immersed in an environment that is calling for competition and an end to big government. Utilizing case studies of industries that have deregulated, or are in the process of deregulating, indicates a future societal need for regulations. This result does not lead to a conclusion that organizational change is unnecessary. This Dissertation will lay out the current organizational structure of the Public Service Commission, give an overview of the environmental signals, describe the mission/core values, and illustrate general political and employee factors that are indigenous to public service. Utilizing both classic and current organizational theory, an evaluation will be made of the Commission's need for change, their ability to change, and obstacles they may encounter.

  15. LimitS - A system for limit state analysis and optimal material layout

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Damkilde, Lars; Krenk, Steen

    1997-01-01

    distribution or an optimal material layout is determined. Through linearization of the yield criteria the optimization problem is stated as a linear programming problem. Within the formulation of the discretized model the optimal lower-bound solution is shown to be an upper-bound solution, and thereby both...

  16. Water Services in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area: How Does State Regulation Work?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariela Verónica Rocca

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available This article deals with the State regulation of drinking water and sanitation services in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires. Its main objective is to identify the continuities and ruptures in State regulation during the transition from private management (1993-2006 to renationalisation and State management (2006 onwards. The concept of “State capacities” (both administrative and relational is used to assess regulatory performance. For the administrative capacities, the correspondence between the design and resources of the agencies, as well as the differences between their formal functions and actual practices, is examined. For the relational capacities, the policies of the National Government and its interaction with both the water and sanitation companies and the regulatory and control agencies are considered. The analysis is based on official documents, legislation and statistics, company balance sheets and reports, newspaper articles and semi-structured interviews.

  17. Medicaid Reimbursement for School Nursing Services: A Position Paper of the National Association of State School Nurse Consultants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Journal of School Health, 1996

    1996-01-01

    This statement of the National Association of State School Nurse Consultants lists those school nursing services and procedures the organization believes should be reimbursable by Medicaid to school districts. Identified services are in the areas of case finding, nursing care procedures, care coordination, patient/student counseling, and emergency…

  18. Examining physicians’ preparedness for tobacco cessation services in India: Findings from primary care public health facilities in two Indian states

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rajmohan Panda

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available BackgroundA total of 275 million tobacco users live throughout India and are in need of tobacco cessation services. However, the preparation of physicians to deliver this service at primary care health facilities remains unknown.AimsThe study aimed to examine the primary care physicians’ preparedness to deliver tobacco cessation services in two Indian states.MethodResearchers surveyed physicians working in primary care public health facilities, primarily in rural areas using a semistructured interview schedule. Physicians’ preparedness was defined in the study as those possessing knowledge of tobacco cessation methods and exhibiting a positive attitude towards the benefits of tobacco cessation counselling as well as being willing to be part of tobacco prevention or cessation program.ResultsOverall only 17% of physicians demonstrated adequate preparation to provide tobacco cessation services at primary care health facilities in both the States. The findings revealed minimal tobacco cessation training during formal medical education (21.3% and on-the-job training (18.9%. Factors, like sex and age of service provider, type of health facility, location of health facility and number of patients attended by the service provider, failed to show significance during bivariate and regression analysis. Preparedness was significantly predicted by state health system.ConclusionThe study highlights a lack of preparedness of primary care physicians to deliver tobacco cessation services. Both the curriculum in medical school and on-the-job training require an addition of a learning component on tobacco cessation. The addition of this component will enable existing primary care facilities to deliver tobacco cessation services.

  19. An Efficient Implementation of Non-Linear Limit State Analysis Based on Lower-Bound Solutions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Damkilde, Lars; Schmidt, Lotte Juhl

    2005-01-01

    Limit State analysis has been used in design for decades e.g. the yield line theory for concrete slabs or slip line solutions in geotechnics. In engineering practice manual methods have been dominating but in recent years the interest in numerical methods has been increasing. In this respect it i...

  20. The (unreceptive experiences of female rape victims who seek healthcare services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luciana de Amorim Barros

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE To know the structure and functioning of healthcare services from the perspective of women who have suffered rape. METHOD A qualitative study conducted with 11 women who experienced rape, monitored in a maternity in the state of Alagoas, Brazil. Data were systematically based on content analysis. RESULTS It allowed for understanding the path taken by women in search of support from health services, as well as the limitations and capabilities of these services. CONCLUSION The assistance received in healthcare services leans towards a revictimization process of women who already carry trauma from the rape. It is necessary to reflect about care practices aimed at sexually victimized women.

  1. State of the Art in LP-WAN Solutions for Industrial IoT Services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanchez-Iborra, Ramon; Cano, Maria-Dolores

    2016-05-17

    The emergence of low-cost connected devices is enabling a new wave of sensorization services. These services can be highly leveraged in industrial applications. However, the technologies employed so far for managing this kind of system do not fully cover the strict requirements of industrial networks, especially those regarding energy efficiency. In this article a novel paradigm, called Low-Power Wide Area Networking (LP-WAN), is explored. By means of a cellular-type architecture, LP-WAN-based solutions aim at fulfilling the reliability and efficiency challenges posed by long-term industrial networks. Thus, the most prominent LP-WAN solutions are reviewed, identifying and discussing the pros and cons of each of them. The focus is also on examining the current deployment state of these platforms in Spain. Although LP-WAN systems are at early stages of development, they represent a promising alternative for boosting future industrial IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) networks and services.

  2. State of the Art in LP-WAN Solutions for Industrial IoT Services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ramon Sanchez-Iborra

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available The emergence of low-cost connected devices is enabling a new wave of sensorization services. These services can be highly leveraged in industrial applications. However, the technologies employed so far for managing this kind of system do not fully cover the strict requirements of industrial networks, especially those regarding energy efficiency. In this article a novel paradigm, called Low-Power Wide Area Networking (LP-WAN, is explored. By means of a cellular-type architecture, LP-WAN–based solutions aim at fulfilling the reliability and efficiency challenges posed by long-term industrial networks. Thus, the most prominent LP-WAN solutions are reviewed, identifying and discussing the pros and cons of each of them. The focus is also on examining the current deployment state of these platforms in Spain. Although LP-WAN systems are at early stages of development, they represent a promising alternative for boosting future industrial IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things networks and services.

  3. Accessibility to primary health care services in the state of Goiás

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juliana Pires Ribeiro

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this study was to evaluate accessibility to primary health care services in the state of Goiás. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted based on secondary data from the National Program to Improve Access to and Quality of Primary Health Care. The study sample was composed of health professionals from 1,216 primary health care units. Results showed that 68.5% of the health units miss a screening room, thus considerably damaging prompt decision-making by professionals. The lack of medical offices in 2% of the sites hinders the primary health care services accessibility in Goiás. As regards opening hours and work shifts, 86% of the units are open five days a week in eight-hour shifts, which does not favor accessibility for users. This study confirms the lack of accessibility to health services and the need for additional investments to strengthen primary health care.

  4. Changes in North Carolina maternal health service use and outcomes among medicaid-enrolled pregnant women during state budget cuts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cilenti, Dorothy; Kum, Hye-Chung; Wells, Rebecca; Whitmire, J Timothy; Goyal, Ravi K; Hillemeier, Marianne M

    2015-01-01

    The recent recession has weakened the US health and human service safety net. Questions about implications for mothers and children prompted this study, which tested for changes in maternal service use and outcomes among North Carolina women with deliveries covered through Medicaid before and after a year of significant state budget cuts. Data for Medicaid covered deliveries from April-June 2009 (pre) and from April-June 2010 (post) were derived from birth certificates, Medicaid claims and eligibility files, and WIC (Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children) records. These time periods represent the quarter immediately before as well as the final quarter of a state fiscal year 2010 (July 2009-June 2010) characterized by substantial state budget cuts, including an October 2009 reduction in reimbursement rates for maternity care coordination. We examined how often women received medical care, maternity care coordination, family planning services, and the average numbers of obstetrical encounters, as well as the prevalence of excessive pregnancy weight gain, preterm delivery, and low birth weight. By the end of a year of substantial state budget cuts, women covered through Medicaid had fewer obstetrical visits in all trimesters as well as postpartum (P budget cuts. Maternal and infant child health outcomes measured in this study did not change during that year. Future monitoring is warranted to ensure that maternal health service access remains adequate.

  5. Occupational accidents among nursing professionals in a home care service in the state of São Paulo

    OpenAIRE

    Jéssica Fernanda Corrêa Cordeiro; Amanda Pavinsk Alves; Emília Maria Paulina Campos Chayamiti; Diego Oliveira Miranda; Elucir Gir; Silvia Rita Marin da Silva Canini

    2016-01-01

    This is a cross-sectional study whose objective is to identify and describe accidents with biological material as told by nursing professionals in a home care service in a city in the state of São Paulo. Of the 30 subjects who provided that service in the data collection period, 28 agreed to participate and 12 (42.8%) claimed to have suffered at least one accident with biological material while carrying out professional procedures for that service. Most of the exposures were percutaneous (91....

  6. Organizations And Services In The System Of International Aviation Navigation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander I. Travnikov

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available In the present article author reveals the order of creation, structure, aims and objectives of national and international intergovernmental aeronautical organizations, governing procedure for flight operations and providing direct air traffic control over sovereign territory and abroad. In this article, author notes that in the world there are three main organizational and legal forms of air traffic control systems to ensure coordination between civil and military air navigation services (agencies. In the Russian Federation, author notes that air navigation services on behalf of the State are made by the State Corporation for Air Traffic Management that has the legal status of the commercial organization - the Federal State Unitary Enterprise. Author analyzes the work of the Organization for the Civil Air Navigation Services (CANSO, the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers (IFATCA. During the study author also concludes that in the past decade, there is the steady trend of transferring functions of air navigation from the State to commercial organizations (joint stock companies and limited liability companies, which are financed from the funds received as payment for air traffic services. The responsibility for the improper maintenance of international air navigation, of course, is borne by the State. Author notes that regional and international intergovernmental aeronautical organizations operate in respect of all aircraft (public, civil, experimental, i.e., perform general air navigation, unlike ICAO, which takes standards and recommended practices, rules and procedures for safety and air traffic services only to civil aircraft, that does not ensure the creation of a regulatory framework for the global unification of aeronautical processes.

  7. Term limits and the tobacco industry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Apollonio, Dorie E; Glantz, Stanton A; Bero, Lisa A

    2014-03-01

    In the 1990s several American states passed term limits on legislators with the stated intention of reducing the influence of wealthy industries on career legislators. Although term limits in the United States do not have a direct relationship to public health, the tobacco industry anticipated that term limits could have indirect effects by either limiting or expanding industry influence. We detail the strategy of the tobacco industry in the wake of term limits using internal tobacco company documents and a database of campaign contributions made to legislators in term limited states between 1988 and 2002. Despite some expectations that term limits would limit tobacco industry access to state legislators, term limits appear to have had the opposite effect. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Legitimization of regulatory norms: Waterfowl hunter acceptance of changing duck bag limits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schroeder, Susan A.; Fulton, David C.; Lawrence, Jeffrey S.; Cordts, Steven D.

    2014-01-01

    Few studies have examined response to regulatory change over time, or addressed hunter attitudes about changes in hunting bag limits. This article explores Minnesota waterfowl hunters’ attitudes about duck bag limits, examining attitudes about two state duck bag limits that were initially more restrictive than the maximum set by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), but then increased to match federal limits. Results are from four mail surveys that examined attitudes about bag limits over time. Following two bag limit increases, a greater proportion of hunters rated the new bag limit “too high” and a smaller proportion rated it “too low.” Several years following the first bag limit increase, the proportion of hunters who indicated that the limit was “too high” had declined, suggesting hunter acceptance of the new regulation. Results suggest that waterfowl bag limits may represent legal norms that influence hunter attitudes and gain legitimacy over time.

  9. 41 CFR 302-7.201 - Is temporary storage in excess of authorized limits and excess valuation of goods and services...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Is temporary storage in excess of authorized limits and excess valuation of goods and services payable at Government expense? 302-7.201 Section 302-7.201 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal Travel Regulation System...

  10. Partnerships – Limited partnerships and limited liability limited partnerships

    OpenAIRE

    Henning, Johan J.

    2000-01-01

    Consideration of the Limited Liability Partnership Act 2000 which introduced a new corporate entity, carrying the designations “partnership” and “limited” which allow members to limit their liability whilst organising themselves internally as a partnership. Article by Professor Johan Henning (Director of the Centre for Corporate Law and Practice, IALS and Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of the Free State, South Africa). Published in Amicus Curiae - Journal of the Institute of Advanced ...

  11. 7 CFR 1780.10 - Limitations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... median household income of the service area is below the higher of the poverty line or 80% of the state...) Pay any costs of a project when the median household income of the service area is more than 100 percent of the nonmetropolitan median household income of the State; (3) Pay project costs when other loan...

  12. Energy extension service pilot program evaluation report: the first year. Volume II: pilot state reports

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1979-09-01

    Volume II of the Energy Extension Service Evaluation presents a discussion of the operations of the ten EES pilot-state programs during the period from October 1, 1977 through September 30, 1978. Each of the ten pilot states - Alabama, Connecticut, Michigan, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming - received a grant of approximately $1.1 million to develop and implement a 19-month program beginning on October 1, 1977. Volume II provides a case-study description of the operations of the pilot program in each state, with special attention given to the two programs selected in each state for more detailed study and survey research. Some survey data and analysis are presented for the emphasis programs.

  13. Limitations Of The Current State Space Modelling Approach In Multistage Machining Processes Due To Operation Variations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abellán-Nebot, J. V.; Liu, J.; Romero, F.

    2009-11-01

    The State Space modelling approach has been recently proposed as an engineering-driven technique for part quality prediction in Multistage Machining Processes (MMP). Current State Space models incorporate fixture and datum variations in the multi-stage variation propagation, without explicitly considering common operation variations such as machine-tool thermal distortions, cutting-tool wear, cutting-tool deflections, etc. This paper shows the limitations of the current State Space model through an experimental case study where the effect of the spindle thermal expansion, cutting-tool flank wear and locator errors are introduced. The paper also discusses the extension of the current State Space model to include operation variations and its potential benefits.

  14. Lower limits of spin detection efficiency for two-parameter two-qubit (TPTQ) states with non-ideal ferromagnetic detectors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Majd, Nayereh; Ghasemi, Zahra

    2016-10-01

    We have investigated a TPTQ state as an input state of a non-ideal ferromagnetic detectors. Minimal spin polarization required to demonstrate spin entanglement according to entanglement witness and CHSH inequality with respect to (w.r.t.) their two free parameters have been found, and we have numerically shown that the entanglement witness is less stringent than the direct tests of Bell's inequality in the form of CHSH in the entangled limits of its free parameters. In addition, the lower limits of spin detection efficiency fulfilling secure cryptographic key against eavesdropping have been derived. Finally, we have considered TPTQ state as an output of spin decoherence channel and the region of ballistic transmission time w.r.t. spin relaxation time and spin dephasing time has been found.

  15. Mental Health Service Use Among Immigrants in the United States: A Systematic Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Derr, Amelia Seraphia

    2016-01-01

    Objective Immigrants face stressors unique to the experience of migration that may exacerbate or cause mental health problems but access care at rates far below the general population, leaving them at risk of untreated mental health conditions. This review synthesizes current findings on mental health service utilization among immigrants to inform future research efforts addressing disparities in access to care. Methods A systematic literature search of seven databases yielded 62 articles that met inclusion criteria: peer-reviewed reports of empirical studies based in the United States with an explicit focus on immigrant mental health service use. Each article was evaluated, and information was extracted by using a structured abstracting form. Results Studies have shown that immigrants from Asia, Latin America, and Africa use mental health services at lower rates than nonimmigrants, despite an equal or greater need. Lower usage has been found to be more pronounced among men, the uninsured, and the undocumented. Structural barriers to service use reported included lack of insurance, high cost, and language barriers. Studies have shown that social support is particularly important for immigrants and that those who seek help for mental health concerns tend to turn first to family, friends, or religious leaders. Conclusions Important areas for future research on disparities in mental health service use among immigrants include expanding research and analytic design to emphasize understudied groups and the heterogeneity of immigrant experiences over time, studying interventions that foster collaboration between formal and informal service sectors, and examining the role of social support in problem recognition and treatment initiation. PMID:26695493

  16. The role of the United States Food Safety and Inspection Service after the Chernobyl accident

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Engel, Ronald E; Randecker, Victor; Johnson, Wesley [Food Safety and Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture (United States)

    1989-09-01

    The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspects domestic and imported meat and poultry food products to assure the public that they are safe, wholesome, not economically adulterated and properly labeled. The Service also monitors the activities of meat and poultry plants and related activities in allied industries, and establishes standards and approves labels for meat and poultry products. As part of its responsibility, shortly after the Chernobyl accident occurred, FSIS developed a plan to assess this accident's impact on domestically produced and imported meat and poultry.

  17. The role of the United States Food Safety and Inspection Service after the Chernobyl accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Engel, Ronald E.; Randecker, Victor; Johnson, Wesley

    1989-01-01

    The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspects domestic and imported meat and poultry food products to assure the public that they are safe, wholesome, not economically adulterated and properly labeled. The Service also monitors the activities of meat and poultry plants and related activities in allied industries, and establishes standards and approves labels for meat and poultry products. As part of its responsibility, shortly after the Chernobyl accident occurred, FSIS developed a plan to assess this accident's impact on domestically produced and imported meat and poultry

  18. Neuroethics with regard to treatment limiting and withdrawal of nutrition and hydration in long lasting irreversible full state apallic syndrome and minimal conscious state.

    Science.gov (United States)

    von Wild, Klaus

    2008-01-01

    Epidemiology in Europe shows constantly increasing figures for the Apallic Syndrome (AS)/Vegetative State (VS) as a consequence of advanced rescue, emergency services, intensive care treatment after acute brain damage, and high standard activating home nursing for completely dependent end stage cases secondary to progressive neurological disease. Management of patients in irreversible apallic syndrome has been the subject of sustained scientific and moral-legal debate over the last decade. Neuroethics coming more and more into consideration when neurological societies address key issues relating to AS/VS prevalence and quality management. With regard to treatment limiting and withdrawal of nutrition and hydration of patients suffering from irreversible full state Apallic Syndrome and Minimal Conscious State. The overall incidence of new AS/VS full stage cases all aetiology is 0.5 - 2/ 100.000 population per year. About one third is traumatic and two thirds are non-traumatic cases. The worst prognosis might be expected from nontraumatic hypoxemic apallic syndrome. The main conceptual criticism is based on assessment and diagnosis of all different AS/VS stages based solely on behavioural findings without knowing the exact or uniform pathogenesis or neuropathologic findings. No special diagnostics, no specific medical management can be recommended for class II or III AS treatment and rehabilitation. But in United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Belgium, and Switzerland active euthanasia is now practiced in medicine taking into account the uncertainty of the right diagnose the clinical features for humanistic treatment of patients in irreversible "AS full or early, remission stages". As long as there is no single AS/VS specific diagnostic tool, no specific laboratory investigation regimen to be recommended neuroethical principles demands by all means a humanistic (ethical) activating nursing even in the irreversible full stage AS cases. Full acceptable is only the palliative

  19. Short-Term Output Variations in Wind Farms--Implications for Ancillary Services in the United States: Preprint

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cadogan, J. [U.S. Department of Energy (US); Milligan, M. [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (US); Wan, Y. [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (US); Kirby, B. [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (US)

    2001-09-21

    With the advent of competition in the electric power marketplace, this paper reviews changes that affect wind and other renewable energy technologies, and discusses the role of federal and state policies in the recent wind installations in the United States. In particular, it reviews the implications of ancillary service requirements on a wind farm and presents initial operating results of monitoring one Midwest wind farm. Under federal energy policy, each generator must purchase, or otherwise provide for, ancillary services, such as dispatch, regulation, operation reserve, voltage regulation, and scheduling required to move power to load. As a renewable technology that depends on the forces of nature, short-term output variations are inherently greater for a wind farm than for a gas-fired combined cycle or a supercritical coal-fired unit.

  20. State-owned Enterprises as Institutional Market Actors in the Marketization of Public Service Provision

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tolstrup Christensen, Lene

    This doctoral thesis (PhD) explores from a public governance perspective the role of stateowned enterprises (SOEs) in an era of marketization of public service provision and thus contributes to the renewed academic interest in contemporary SOEs. It builds on an explorative comparative case study...... of DSB SOV and SJ AB in the marketization of passenger rail in Denmark and Sweden respectively from the 1990s to 2015. In the period both cases kept full state ownership and Sweden gradually exposed all services to competition whereas in Denmark with time competition was put on hold. The case study...... as an institutional market actor (IMA)....

  1. ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN PROVIDERS OF FARMING PROFESSIONAL SERVICES OF THE STATE OF CAMPECHE, MEXICO

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benjamín Figueroa-Rodríguez

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Entrepreneurship, defined as the ability or competence to generate and create new business initiatives has its relevance on the economic and territorial development. Nowadays, state governments seek to support farmers in the development of their entrepreneurship skills based on a network of providers of farming professionals services (PSP. The objective of the article was to analyze the construction of the entrepreneurship concept based on self-perception affirmations (positive attitudes and the characteristics of the PSP (age and years on service. A questionnaire with 60 affirmations, using a 6-point Likert-type scale (0 to 6, was applied to 105 PSP of the state of Campeche, México; from which only 71 observations were complete and useful for creating an individual entrepreneurship index. The index was the product of the addition of the total of scores of each item, where 0 was the minimum and 360 the maximum possible (M= 279.23, DE= 35.30, Min= 62, Max= 339. With the aim to reduce the 60 variables, a factor analysis was carried out and 14 constructs were developed; only two phrases were left independent as well as the age and years of service as a PSP. This all were used to run a hierarchical regression analysis. Results show that the variables of persistence, innovation, self-esteem, independence, commitment and “I’d rather be alone”, as well as other characteristics, were positively and significantly related to higher levels of entrepreneurship (p<0.001, whilst the variables that did not explain it were undergoing risk and taking the initiative. Age and years of experience were not significant associated with the level of entrepreneurship. It was concluded that positive attitudes are important in explaining entrepreneur self-perception, on the contrary age or experience as a PSP seems to be irrelevant. The implication of the study for the states governments is to stimulate the development of projects that imply the use of business

  2. An effective, robust and parallel implementation of an interior point algorithm for limit state optimization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dollerup, Niels; Jepsen, Michael S.; Frier, Christian

    2014-01-01

    A robust and effective finite element based implementation of lower bound limit state analysis applying an interior point formulation is presented in this paper. The lower bound formulation results in a convex optimization problem consisting of a number of linear constraints from the equilibrium...

  3. Collaboration between Government and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Delivering Curative Health Services in North Darfur State, Sudan- a National Report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    I A Yagub, Abdallah

    2014-05-01

    North Darfur State has been affected by conflict since 2003 and the government has not been able to provide adequate curative health services to the people. The government has come to rely on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to provide curative health services. This study was conducted to examine the existing collaboration between government and NGOs in curative health service delivery in North Darfur State, and to identify the challenges that affect their collaboration. Documentary data were collected from government offices and medical organizations. Primary data were obtained through interviews with government and NGOs representatives. The interviews were conducted with (1) expatriates working for international NGOs (N=15) and (2), health professionals and administrators working in the health sector (N= 45). The collaboration between the government and NGOs has been very weak because of security issues and lack of trust. The NGOs collaborate by providing human and financial resources, material and equipment, and communication facilities. The NGOs supply 70% of curative health services, and contribute 52.9% of the health budget in North Darfur State. The NGOs have employed 1 390 health personnel, established 44 health centres and manage and support 83 health facilities across the State. The NGOs have played a positive role in collaborating with the government in North Darfur State in delivering curative health services, while government's role has been negative. The problem that faces the government in future is how health facilities will be run should a peaceful settlement be reached and NGOs leave the region.

  4. 26 CFR 31.3121(b)(5)-1 - Services in employ of an instrumentality of the United States specifically exempted from the...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (CONTINUED) EMPLOYMENT TAXES AND... employ of an instrumentality of the United States specifically exempted from the employer tax. Services... 26 Internal Revenue 15 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Services in employ of an instrumentality of the...

  5. Sensitivity and uncertainty analyses applied to one-dimensional radionuclide transport in a layered fractured rock: Evaluation of the Limit State approach, Iterative Performance Assessment, Phase 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Y.T.; Gureghian, A.B.; Sagar, B.; Codell, R.B.

    1992-12-01

    The Limit State approach is based on partitioning the parameter space into two parts: one in which the performance measure is smaller than a chosen value (called the limit state), and the other in which it is larger. Through a Taylor expansion at a suitable point, the partitioning surface (called the limit state surface) is approximated as either a linear or quadratic function. The success and efficiency of the limit state method depends upon choosing an optimum point for the Taylor expansion. The point in the parameter space that has the highest probability of producing the value chosen as the limit state is optimal for expansion. When the parameter space is transformed into a standard Gaussian space, the optimal expansion point, known as the lost Probable Point (MPP), has the property that its location on the Limit State surface is closest to the origin. Additionally, the projections onto the parameter axes of the vector from the origin to the MPP are the sensitivity coefficients. Once the MPP is determined and the Limit State surface approximated, formulas (see Equations 4-7 and 4-8) are available for determining the probability of the performance measure being less than the limit state. By choosing a succession of limit states, the entire cumulative distribution of the performance measure can be detemined. Methods for determining the MPP and also for improving the estimate of the probability are discussed in this report

  6. Study of Support Services for Children with Special Needs in the State of Sikkim

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dash, Neena

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to present the status of integrated education for children with special needs in the State of Sikkim, to study the various support services required for children with special needs for their successful completion of primary education, to ascertain the academic support provided to children with special needs in the…

  7. Investigation of the effect of controllable dampers on limit states of rotor systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zapoměl J.

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available The unbalance and time varying loading are the principal sources of lateral vibrations of rotors and of increase of forces transmitted through the coupling elements into the stationary part. These oscillations and force effects can be considerably reduced if damping devices are added to the coupling elements placed between the rotor and its casing. The theoretical studies and practical experience show that to achieve their optimum performance their damping effect must be controllable. This article focuses on investigation of influence of controlled damping in the rotor supports on its limit state of deformation, fatigue failure and on magnitude of the forces transmitted into the stationary part. The analysed system is a flexible rotor with one disc driven by an electric DC motor and loaded by the disc unbalance and by technological forces depending on the rotor angular position. In the computational model the system vibration is governed by a set of nonlinear differential equations of the first and second orders. To evaluate the fatigue failure both the flexural and torsional oscillations are taken into account. The analysis is aimed at searching for the intervals of angular speeds, at which the rotor can be operated without exceeding the limit states.

  8. Projecting climate change in the United States: A technical document supporting the Forest Service RPA 2010 Assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linda A. Joyce; David T. Price; David P. Coulson; Daniel W. McKenney; R. Martin Siltanen; Pia Papadopol; Kevin. Lawrence

    2014-01-01

    A set of climate change projections for the United States was developed for use in the 2010 USDA Forest Service RPA Assessment. These climate projections, along with projections for population dynamics, economic growth, and land use change in the United States, comprise the RPA scenarios and are used in the RPA Assessment to project future renewable resource conditions...

  9. 78 FR 21862 - Revision to United States Marshals Service Fees for Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-04-12

    ....). List of Subjects in 28 CFR Part 0 Authority delegations (Government agencies), Government employees... Marshals Service employee, agent, or contractor. This proposed fee increase reflects the current costs to.... Marshals Service employee, agent, or contractor, plus travel costs and any other out-of- pocket expenses...

  10. A State-Wide Research Network for Alzheimer's Disease

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mintzer, Jacobo E.; Bachman, D. L.; Stuckey, M.; Ebeling, M.; Wagner, M. T.; Evans, W. J.; Hirth, V.; Walker, A.; Joglekar, R.; Faison, W.

    2014-03-13

    The Specific Aim of the proposal was to develop an administrative structure that will facilitate the development of AD research across the state of SC by providing key services such as (but not limited to) seeking funding research opportunities, financial tracking, regulatory management, central recruitment, training for investigators and coordinators, data collection, data storing, and data processing to researchers across the state.

  11. Riverine ecosystem services and the thermoelectric sector: strategic issues facing the Northeastern United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miara, A.; Vorosmarty, C. J.; Stewart, R.; Wollheim, W. M.; Rosenzweig, B.

    2013-12-01

    Major strategic issues facing the global thermoelectric sector include environmental regulation, climate change and increasing electricity demand. We have addressed such issues by modeling thermoelectric generation in the Northeastern United States that is reliant on cooling under five sensitivity tests to evaluate losses/gains in power production, thermal pollution and suitable aquatic habitat, comparing the contemporary baseline (2000-2010) with potential future states. Integral to the analysis, we developed a methodology to quantify river water availability for cooling, which we define as an ecosystem service. Projected climate conditions reduce river water available for efficient power plant operations and the river's capacity to absorb waste heat, causing a loss of regional thermoelectric generation (RTG) (2.5%) in some summers that, compared to the contemporary baseline, is equal to the summertime electricity consumption of 1.3 million Northeastern US homes. Vulnerabilities to warm temperatures and thermal pollution can be alleviated through the use of more efficient natural gas (NG) power plants that have a reduced reliance on cooling water. Conversion of once-through (OT) to cooling tower (CT) systems and the Clean Water Act (CWA) temperature limit regulation, both of which reduce efficiencies at the single plant level, show potential to yield beneficial increases in RTG. This is achieved by obviating the need for large volumes of river water, thereby reducing plant-to-plant interferences through lowering the impact of upstream thermal pollution and preserving a minimum standard of cooling water. The results and methodology framework presented here, which can be extrapolated to other regional assessments with contrasting climates and thermoelectric profiles, can identify opportunities and support decision-making to achieve more efficient energy systems and riverine ecosystem protection.

  12. Evaluation of quality in Service of Mammography of the State of Pernambuco

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Menezes, Claudio J.M.; Hwang, Suy F.; Peixoto, Joao Emilio

    2001-01-01

    The cancer of breast is what more contributes to mortality among women in the world. In 2000, it is considered that happened about 28.300 new cases and 8.200 death in Brazil. Thus, programs of precocious detection have been transmitted and driven the professionals of health and the population, where the used method and indicated for the diagnosis it is the mammography. However, to be capable to detect small lesions, still without clinical expression, the Service of Mammography should have mechanisms that guarantee the quality and effectiveness of the exam, assuring the great levels of sensibility and of specific. That work has as objective to evaluate the quality of the Services of Mammography of the State of Pernambuco, seeking to adapt them to the effective norms, guaranteeing like this the success of programs of precocious detection. Results show that 55% of the Services present problems in the envisage of the bunch of ray-X, 57% of the apparels do not present system of automatic control of the exhibition (CAE) regulated or it does not exist, by force of compression of 37% of the apparels they were out of the interval of tolerance (11 to 18 kg) and 36% of the processor were just in conformity with the operation patterns for mammography. Of the one of the 31 Services evaluated 3 they were just totally approved, while 10 did not present minimum quality for the diagnosis. (author)

  13. Capabilities, limitations and challenges of a simplified PC-SAFT equation of state

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    von Solms, Nicolas; Kouskoumvekaki, Irene; Michelsen, Michael Locht

    2006-01-01

    and physical performance of a modified PC-SAFT equation of state for highly asymmetric and associating mixtures, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 42 (2003) 1098.] has been applied to several complex polymer-sol vent systems, including vapor-liquid equilibria, liquid-liquid equilibria and gas solubilities for both single......-solvent and mixed-solvents (ternary) systems. This manuscript briefly reviews previous successful applications of PC-SAFT, illustrates the capabilities of the model and indicates some problems and limitations in specific areas, especially aqueous systems and blends, as well as challenges that need to be addressed...

  14. Non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and nuclear security. Overview of safeguards requirements for States with limited nuclear material and activities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lodding, J.; Ribeiro, B.

    2006-06-01

    This booklet provides an overview of safeguards obligations that apply to States which are parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) that have no nuclear facilities and only limited quantities of nuclear material. Most State parties to the NPT have no nuclear facilities and only limited quantities of nuclear material. For such States, safeguards implementation is expected to be simple and straightforward. This booklet provides an overview of the safeguards obligations that apply to such States. It is hoped that a better understanding of these requirements will facilitate the conclusion and implementation of safeguards agreements and additional protocols, and thereby contribute to the strengthening of the IAEA?s safeguards system and of collective security

  15. Non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and nuclear security. Overview of Safeguards requirements for States with limited nuclear material and activities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lodding, J.; Ribeiro, B.

    2006-06-01

    This booklet provides an overview of safeguards obligations that apply to States which are parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) that have no nuclear facilities and only limited quantities of nuclear material. Most State parties to the NPT have no nuclear facilities and only limited quantities of nuclear material. For such States, safeguards implementation is expected to be simple and straightforward. This booklet provides an overview of the safeguards obligations that apply to such States. It is hoped that a better understanding of these requirements will facilitate the conclusion and implementation of safeguards agreements and additional protocols, and thereby contribute to the strengthening of the IAEA?s safeguards system and of collective security

  16. Study of operational conditions in medical radiodiagnostic services - ionizing radiation surveillance program in Sao Paulo State, Brazil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aldred, Marta Aurelia; Eduardo, Maria Bernardete de Paula; Carvalho, Marisa Lima

    1996-01-01

    A radiation surveillance program was created in Sao Paulo State (Brazil) in 1994 to identify the risks in health care services. A total number of 259 centres were visited and 411 radiodiagnostic rooms were inspected. During the survey an 'inspection form' of 32 items was filled in. Analysis of the answers classified 24% of services as high risk, 22% of rooms showed irregular installations, 25% of X-ray equipment presented problems and 22% of personnel used inadequate procedures. Additional and regular surveys were programmed for the services considered of high risk in order to reduce it

  17. 78 FR 26406 - Product Change-Parcel Return Service Negotiated Service Agreement

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-05-06

    ... POSTAL SERVICE Product Change--Parcel Return Service Negotiated Service Agreement AGENCY: Postal... United States Postal Service[supreg] hereby gives notice that, pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 3642 and 3632(b)(3... Postal Service to Add Parcel Return Service Contract 4 to Competitive Product List. Documents are...

  18. A new frequency-domain criterion for elimination of limit cycles in fixed-point state-space digital filters using saturation arithmetic

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, Vimal

    2007-01-01

    In [Singh V. Elimination of overflow oscillations in fixed-point state-space digital filters using saturation arithmetic. IEEE Trans Circ Syst 1990;37(6):814-8], a frequency-domain criterion for the suppression of limit cycles in fixed-point state-space digital filters using saturation overflow arithmetic was presented. The passivity property owing to the presence of multiple saturation nonlinearities was exploited therein. In the present paper, a new notion of passivity, namely, that involving the state variables is considered, thereby arriving at an entirely new frequency-domain criterion for the suppression of limit cycles in such filters

  19. State institutions and social identity: National representation in soldiers' and civilians' interview talk concerning military service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gibson, Stephen; Condor, Susan

    2009-06-01

    Theory and research deriving from social identity or self-categorization perspectives often starts out with the presumption that social actors necessarily view societal objects such as nations or states as human categories. However, recent work suggests that this may be only one of a number of forms that societal representation may take. For example, nations may be understood variously as peoples, places, or institutions. This paper presents findings from a qualitative interview study conducted in England, in which soldiers and civilians talked about nationhood in relation to military service. Analysis indicated that, in this context, speakers were often inclined to use the terms 'Britain', 'nation', and 'country' as references to a political institution as opposed to a category of people. In addition, there were systematic differences between the ways in which the two samples construed their nation in institutional terms. The civilians were inclined to treat military service as a matter of obedience to the dictates of the Government of the day. In contrast, the soldiers were more inclined to frame military service as a matter of loyalty to state as symbolically instantiated in the body of the sovereign. Implications for work adopting a social identity perspective are discussed.

  20. A characterization of ecosystem services, drivers and values of two watersheds in São Paulo State, Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. A. Periotto

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The evaluation of ecosystem services is a tool to raise awareness about benefits of ecosystem functions for human well-being. In Brazil, few studies and reports assess ecosystem services in a watershed context. The aim of this paper is to fill this gap by assessing ecosystem services of Jacaré-Guaçu and Jacaré-Pepira Watersheds (São Paulo State, Brazil in a temporal scale of 10 years. Land cover and uses’ capacity to provide ecosystem services and drivers were assessed as a result of mapping these areas. Economic values were estimated based on literature information. Results showed that cultivated and managed terrestrial areas stands out over other areas and then, regulation and maintenance services are reduced in these areas. Wetlands and natural vegetation, with smaller areas, are important for the supply of regulation and maintenance services of both watersheds and economic values indicate the magnitude of degradation or maintenance/restoration.

  1. Religious institutions and the politics of access to basic services in displacement contexts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lauterbach, Karen

    This paper provides a study of religious institutions as service providers in contexts of crises and displacement. Religious institutions, as well as other non-state institutions, provide access to a vast range of resources and services (such as food, housing, clothes, counseling, money, and access...... to networks). In contexts of displacement access to basic services is formally regulated by one’s status (e.g. as refugee or national citizen) and by physical location (e.g. in settlements/camps or urban areas). The paper discusses what role religious institutions play when access to services provided...... by the state or the international humanitarian system is limited or non-existent and what kind of relations of exchange that is at stake. Empirically the project deals with Congolese churches in Kampala, Uganda of which many pastors and members have refugee status. The paper analyses the range and categories...

  2. 42 CFR 93.105 - Time limitations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Time limitations. 93.105 Section 93.105 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES HEALTH ASSESSMENTS AND HEALTH EFFECTS STUDIES OF HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES RELEASES AND FACILITIES PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE POLICIES ON RESEARCH...

  3. Development of Heat-Affected Zone Hardness Limits for In-Service Welding

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-09-29

    Welding onto in-service pipelines is frequently required to facilitate a repair or to install a branch connection using the "hot tapping" technique. Welds made in-service cool at an accelerated rate as the result of the ability of the flowing content...

  4. Services Provided to Military Dependents Who Are "Mentally Gifted" in the US Department of Defense (DoDEA) Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bugaj, Stephen J.

    2013-01-01

    The US Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) is a federal agency that provides educational services to military dependents in 12 foreign countries, seven states, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. Perhaps due to its restricted audience, the general public has limited knowledge of DoDEA services; moreover, empirical information about these services…

  5. Numerical Limit Analysis:

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Damkilde, Lars

    2007-01-01

    Limit State analysis has a long history and many prominent researchers have contributed. The theoretical foundation is based on the upper- and lower-bound theorems which give a very comprehensive and elegant formulation on complicated physical problems. In the pre-computer age Limit State analysis...... also enabled engineers to solve practical problems within reinforced concrete, steel structures and geotechnics....

  6. Facility-level, state, and financial factors associated with changes in the provision of smoking cessation services in US substance abuse treatment facilities: Results from the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services 2006 to 2012.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohn, Amy; Elmasry, Hoda; Niaura, Ray

    2017-06-01

    Cigarette smoking is common among patients in substance abuse treatment. Tobacco control programs have advocated for integrated tobacco dependence treatment into behavioral healthcare, including within substance abuse treatment facilities (SATFs) to reduce the public health burden of tobacco use. This study used data from seven waves (2006 to 2012) of the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (n=94,145) to examine state and annual changes in the provision of smoking cessation services within US SATFs and whether changes over time could be explained by facility-level (private vs public ownership, receipt of earmarks, facility admissions, acceptance of government insurance) and state-level factors (cigarette tax per pack, smoke free policies, and percent of CDC recommended tobacco prevention spending). Results showed that the prevalence of SATFs offering smoking cessation services increased over time, from 13% to 65%. The amount of tax per cigarette pack, accepting government insurance, government (vs private) ownership, facility admissions, and CDC recommended tobacco prevention spending (per state) were the strongest correlates of the provision of smoking cessation programs in SATFs. Facilities that received earmarks were less likely to provide cessation services. Adult smoking prevalence and state-level smoke free policies were not significant correlates of the provision of smoking cessation services over time. Policies aimed at increasing the distribution of tax revenues to cessation services in SATFs may offset tobacco-related burden among those with substance abuse problems. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  7. Transportation tolls, services and capacity : report from TransCanada PipeLines Limited on its changing mainline system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McPherson, J.

    2003-01-01

    This presentation described the measures that TransCanada PipeLines Limited has taken to change its business model while lowering operating costs. The company is concerned about keeping tolls as low as possible to maintain competitiveness. Demand for pipeline capacity over the next five years is expected to be as high as 1.0 Bcf. Incremental capacity will be required to serve the markets. The market drivers for transportation were described as being reliability, greater price certainty, optionality, and stability in terms of contracts, service and regulations. 1 fig

  8. Receipt of Selected Preventive Health Services for Women and Men of Reproductive Age - United States, 2011-2013.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pazol, Karen; Robbins, Cheryl L; Black, Lindsey I; Ahrens, Katherine A; Daniels, Kimberly; Chandra, Anjani; Vahratian, Anjel; Gavin, Lorrie E

    2017-10-27

    Receipt of key preventive health services among women and men of reproductive age (i.e., 15-44 years) can help them achieve their desired number and spacing of healthy children and improve their overall health. The 2014 publication Providing Quality Family Planning Services: Recommendations of CDC and the U.S. Office of Population Affairs (QFP) establishes standards for providing a core set of preventive services to promote these goals. These services include contraceptive care for persons seeking to prevent or delay pregnancy, pregnancy testing and counseling, basic infertility services for those seeking to achieve pregnancy, sexually transmitted disease (STD) services, and other preconception care and related preventive health services. QFP describes how to provide these services and recommends using family planning and other primary care visits to screen for and offer the full range of these services. This report presents baseline estimates of the use of these preventive services before the publication of QFP that can be used to monitor progress toward improving the quality of preventive care received by women and men of reproductive age. 2011-2013. Three surveillance systems were used to document receipt of preventive health services among women and men of reproductive age as recommended in QFP. The National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) collects data on factors that influence reproductive health in the United States since 1973, with a focus on fertility, sexual activity, contraceptive use, reproductive health care, family formation, child care, and related topics. NSFG uses a stratified, multistage probability sample to produce nationally representative estimates for the U.S. household population of women and men aged 15-44 years. This report uses data from the 2011-2013 NSFG. The Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) is an ongoing, state- and population-based surveillance system designed to monitor selected maternal behaviors and experiences

  9. The association of state per capita income and military service deaths in the Vietnam and Iraq wars

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maynard Charles

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background In the United States, social burdens including war casualties are often distributed unequally across groups of individuals, communities, and states. The purpose of this report was to examine the association between war deaths and per capita income in the 50 states and District of Columbia during the Vietnam and Iraq wars. Methods The numbers of deaths by the home state of record for each conflict were obtained from Department of Defense records on the Internet as were key variables including age at death, gender, race, branch of service, rank, circumstances of death, home state of record and the ratio of wounded to dead. In addition, we obtained state per capita income and state population for the relevant times. Results Characteristics of decedents in the 2 conflicts were very similar with young, white enlisted men accounting for the majority of deaths. However, in the Iraq war, women accounted for a 2.4% of casualties. Also of note was the higher ratio of wounded to dead in Iraq. At the level of the state, the correlation between the ratio of deaths per 100,000 and per capita income was -0.51 (p Conclusion For military service members serving in the Vietnam and Iraq conflicts, there were many more women who died in the latter war. Whether war deaths resulted in lower per capita income cannot be determined from these cross sectional data; we simply note a strong association between per capita income and war casualty rates for both wars.

  10. 78 FR 57925 - Ferroequus Railway Company Limited and Railstuff, LLC-Lease and Operation Exemption-City of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-09-20

    ... Company Limited and Railstuff, LLC--Lease and Operation Exemption--City of Tacoma, d/b/a Tacoma Rail... City of Tacoma, d/b/a Tacoma Rail Mountain Division (TRMD), and to operate, pursuant to a lease... state that the line connects with a TRMD line over which TMRD provides common carrier service between...

  11. BioSWR--semantic web services registry for bioinformatics.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dmitry Repchevsky

    Full Text Available Despite of the variety of available Web services registries specially aimed at Life Sciences, their scope is usually restricted to a limited set of well-defined types of services. While dedicated registries are generally tied to a particular format, general-purpose ones are more adherent to standards and usually rely on Web Service Definition Language (WSDL. Although WSDL is quite flexible to support common Web services types, its lack of semantic expressiveness led to various initiatives to describe Web services via ontology languages. Nevertheless, WSDL 2.0 descriptions gained a standard representation based on Web Ontology Language (OWL. BioSWR is a novel Web services registry that provides standard Resource Description Framework (RDF based Web services descriptions along with the traditional WSDL based ones. The registry provides Web-based interface for Web services registration, querying and annotation, and is also accessible programmatically via Representational State Transfer (REST API or using a SPARQL Protocol and RDF Query Language. BioSWR server is located at http://inb.bsc.es/BioSWR/and its code is available at https://sourceforge.net/projects/bioswr/under the LGPL license.

  12. BioSWR--semantic web services registry for bioinformatics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Repchevsky, Dmitry; Gelpi, Josep Ll

    2014-01-01

    Despite of the variety of available Web services registries specially aimed at Life Sciences, their scope is usually restricted to a limited set of well-defined types of services. While dedicated registries are generally tied to a particular format, general-purpose ones are more adherent to standards and usually rely on Web Service Definition Language (WSDL). Although WSDL is quite flexible to support common Web services types, its lack of semantic expressiveness led to various initiatives to describe Web services via ontology languages. Nevertheless, WSDL 2.0 descriptions gained a standard representation based on Web Ontology Language (OWL). BioSWR is a novel Web services registry that provides standard Resource Description Framework (RDF) based Web services descriptions along with the traditional WSDL based ones. The registry provides Web-based interface for Web services registration, querying and annotation, and is also accessible programmatically via Representational State Transfer (REST) API or using a SPARQL Protocol and RDF Query Language. BioSWR server is located at http://inb.bsc.es/BioSWR/and its code is available at https://sourceforge.net/projects/bioswr/under the LGPL license.

  13. 78 FR 29338 - Applications for New Award; Technical Assistance To Improve State Data Capacity-National...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-05-20

    ...) and State lead agencies, local educational agencies (LEAs), schools, early intervention service (EIS... limited to State special education or early intervention offices. The Data Center's TA must primarily... measurable outcomes; and (3) ``mapping'' the relationship of the data validity issue or system capacity issue...

  14. MARKETING RESEARCHES OF THE POPULATIONS HEALTH STATE AS A FACTOR OF DEMAND FORMATION IN THE MARKET OF PAID MEDICAL SERVICES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nataliia Hrechanyk

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available The state of health of the population is one of the most important indicators of the well-being of the nation. Important directions of health care reform are optimization of management, rational distribution of limited financial resources, efficient use of material resources, introduction of health insurance, restructuring of treatment and preventive care to the people. Marketing of medical services market is one of the most complex types of marketing. Because it is medical services that are connected with the protection and maintenance of the most important values ​​of a person - life and health. The market for medical services is a combination of socio-economic relations in the healthcare sector. The most important components of the analysis of any market, including the market of medical services, are marketing research, which is a systematic collection, processing, analysis of data and information in order to formulate proposals for effective activities on it. In the field of public health, marketing can be defined as a complex process of planning, economic substantiation and management of the process of provision of medical services, the formation of a pricing policy of the medical-preventive process, ensuring effective communication with patients. The purpose of the study is to identify the health of the population and determine the demand factors for paid health services and their demand. The main task set before market research on the health of the population is the formation and provision of benefits to consumers that meet their needs for qualified medical care and quality of life. The research methods used in the work are based on probabilistic, stratified, quota, representative samples for the entire population of Ivano-Frankivsk and Ivano-Frankivsk region. The obtained results allow us to give a realistic assessment of the main trends and allow us to assess the potential of socio-economic adaptation of the population in the

  15. A qualitative study of community pharmacists' opinions on the provision of osteoporosis disease state management services in Malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nik, Jah; Lai, Pauline Siew Mei; Ng, Chirk Jenn; Emmerton, Lynne

    2016-08-30

    Osteoporosis has significant impact on healthcare costs and quality of life. Amongst the models for collaborative disease state management services published internationally, there is sparse evidence regarding the role of community pharmacists in the provision of osteoporosis care. Hence, the aim of our study was to explore community pharmacists' opinions (including the barriers and facilitators) and scope of osteoporosis disease state management services by community pharmacists in Malaysia, informing a vision for developing these services. Semi-structured individual interviews and focus groups discussions were conducted with community pharmacists from October 2013 to July 2014. Three trained researchers interviewed the participants. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed thematically using an interpretative description approach. Nineteen community pharmacists with 1-23 years of experience were recruited (in depth interviews: n = 9; focus group discussions: n = 10). These participants reflected on their experience with osteoporosis-related enquiries, which included medication counseling, bone density screening and referral of at-risk patients. Key barriers were the lack of numerous factors: public awareness of osteoporosis, accurate osteoporosis screening tools for community pharmacists, pharmacists' knowledge on osteoporosis disease and medications, time to counsel patients about bone health, collaboration between pharmacists and doctors, and support from the government and professional body. The pharmacists wanted more continuing education on osteoporosis, osteoporosis awareness campaigns, a simple, unbiased osteoporosis education material, and inter-professional collaboration practices with doctors, and pharmacists' reimbursement for osteoporosis care. The involvement of community pharmacists in the provision of osteoporosis disease state management was minimal. Only ad-hoc counseling on osteoporosis prevention was

  16. Creating the Future: A 2020 Vision and Plan for Library Service in New York State. Recommendations of the New York State Regents Advisory Council on Libraries to the New York State Board of Regents

    Science.gov (United States)

    New York State Education Department, 2016

    2016-01-01

    In April 2010, the New York State Board of Regents challenged the library community to rethink the State's vast array of library services to ensure that they are aligned with modern expectations and the expanded functions needed in today's society, operate with improved efficiency, and are prepared for the future as an essential and vibrant part…

  17. 47 CFR 20.6 - CMRS spectrum aggregation limit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... COMMERCIAL MOBILE RADIO SERVICES § 20.6 CMRS spectrum aggregation limit. (a) Spectrum limitation. No licensee... charged for such services. (10) Any licensee or its affiliate who enters into a joint marketing... management agreements or joint marketing agreements; or (iii) Non-controlling attributable interests in...

  18. A two-state comparative implementation of peer-support intervention to link veterans to health-related services after incarceration: a study protocol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simmons, Molly M; Fincke, Benjamin G; Drainoni, Mari-Lynn; Kim, Bo; Byrne, Tom; Smelson, David; Casey, Kevin; Ellison, Marsha L; Visher, Christy; Blue-Howells, Jessica; McInnes, D Keith

    2017-09-12

    Approximately 600,000 persons are released from prison annually in the United States. Relatively few receive sufficient re-entry services and are at risk for unemployment, homelessness, poverty, substance abuse relapse and recidivism. Persons leaving prison who have a mental illness and/or a substance use disorder are particularly challenged. This project aims to create a peer mentor program to extend the reach and effectiveness of reentry services provided by the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA). We will implement a peer support for reentry veterans sequentially in two states. Our outcome measures are 1) fidelity of the intervention, 2) linkage to VA health care and, 3) continued engagement in health care. The aims for this project are as follows: (1) Conduct contextual analysis to identify VA and community reentry resources, and describe how reentry veterans use them. (2) Implement peer-support, in one state, to link reentry veterans to Veterans' Health Administration (VHA) primary care, mental health, and SUD services. (3) Port the peer-support intervention to another, geographically, and contextually different state. This intervention involves a 2-state sequential implementation study (Massachusetts, followed by Pennsylvania) using a Facilitation Implementation strategy. We will conduct formative and summative analyses, including assessment of fidelity, and a matched comparison group to evaluate the intervention's outcomes of veteran linkage and engagement in VHA health care (using health care utilization measures). The study proceeds in 3 phases. We anticipate that a peer support program will be effective at improving the reentry process for veterans, particularly in linking them to health, mental health, and SUD services and helping them to stay engaged in those services. It will fill a gap by providing veterans with access to a trusted individual, who understands their experience as a veteran and who has experienced justice involvement. The outputs from

  19. Suppression of resonance Raman scattering via ground state depletion towards sub-diffraction-limited label-free microscopy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rieger, S.; Fischedick, M.; Boller, Klaus J.; Fallnich, Carsten

    2016-01-01

    We report on the first experimental demonstration of the suppression of spontaneous Raman scattering via ground state depletion. The concept of Raman suppression can be used to achieve sub-diffraction-limited resolution in label-free microscopy by exploiting spatially selective signal suppression

  20. Packaging health services when resources are limited: the example of a cervical cancer screening visit.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jane J Kim

    2006-11-01

    Full Text Available Increasing evidence supporting the value of screening women for cervical cancer once in their lifetime, coupled with mounting interest in scaling up successful screening demonstration projects, present challenges to public health decision makers seeking to take full advantage of the single-visit opportunity to provide additional services. We present an analytic framework for packaging multiple interventions during a single point of contact, explicitly taking into account a budget and scarce human resources, constraints acknowledged as significant obstacles for provision of health services in poor countries.We developed a binary integer programming (IP model capable of identifying an optimal package of health services to be provided during a single visit for a particular target population. Inputs to the IP model are derived using state-transition models, which compute lifetime costs and health benefits associated with each intervention. In a simplified example of a single lifetime cervical cancer screening visit, we identified packages of interventions among six diseases that maximized disability-adjusted life years (DALYs averted subject to budget and human resource constraints in four resource-poor regions. Data were obtained from regional reports and surveys from the World Health Organization, international databases, the published literature, and expert opinion. With only a budget constraint, interventions for depression and iron deficiency anemia were packaged with cervical cancer screening, while the more costly breast cancer and cardiovascular disease interventions were not. Including personnel constraints resulted in shifting of interventions included in the package, not only across diseases but also between low- and high-intensity intervention options within diseases.The results of our example suggest several key themes: Packaging other interventions during a one-time visit has the potential to increase health gains; the shortage of

  1. ANALYSIS OF AUDITORS IN HEALTH AS TO PUBLIC THE PHYSIOTHERAPY SERVICES OF THE BAHIA STATE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ítalo Ricardo Santos Aleluia

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The audit in the SUS searchers the effectiveness and quality in the actions and healt services given to the population. Although the multiprofessionalism in such activity is recognized nationally, there are categories such as Physiotherapists that not work in the teams, this service being audited by professionals non-technical. Soon, gives credit that this can cause fragilities in the control of the resources and quality of the Physiotherapy services givento the users. This study it had as objective to identify the main difficulties encountered by auditors of the SUS in the services of Physiotherapy in the Bahia State. It is a study of transversal with a convenience sample of 40 auditors of the SUS, trough a semi-structured questionnaire. There are difficulties found had demonstrated a direct relation between the technician knowledge auditor and better or worse performance in the process of auditing of the Physiotherapy, translates the relevance the physiotherapist on audit of team the SUS, since this is the professional who dominates the knowledge technician of the area .

  2. Investigating client perception and attitude to decentralization of HIV/AIDS treatment services to primary health centres in three Nigerian states.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Onwujekwe, Obinna; Chikezie, Ifeanyi; Mbachu, Chinyere; Chiegil, Robert; Torpey, Kwasi; Uzochukwu, Benjamin

    2016-10-01

    The opinions of consumers in decentralization provide insights into possible levels of improvement in access and uptake of services. The study examined clients' perception and attitude towards decentralization of antiretroviral treatment services from central hospitals to primary health centres (PHCs). A cross-sectional survey was undertaken in three states in Nigeria. A total of 1265 exit interviews were conducted with HIV/AIDS clients in nine health facilities. About a third of all the respondents were not comfortable with receiving ART services in a PHC facility close to where they live. The reasons given by 385 respondents who would not want their treatment centres near were as follows: fear of disclosure, 299 (80.4%); fear of being discriminated against, 278 (74.3%); and satisfaction with care received at current facility, 278 (74.3%). However, more than 90% of respondents in all three states felt that decentralization of ART services to PHCs would be beneficial in controlling HIV/AIDS in Nigeria; the difference in respondents' perception across the three state was found to be statistically significant (P < 0.001). The findings imply that scaling-up of treatment services to PHCs would be widely accepted, and probably result in increased uptake. However, this must be accompanied by targeted behaviour change interventions for clients who for the fear of disclosure and stigma would still not access care from proximate facilities. © 2015 The Authors. Health Expectations. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  3. Riverine ecosystem services and the thermoelectric sector: strategic issues facing the Northeastern United States

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miara, Ariel; Vörösmarty, Charles J; Rosenzweig, Bernice; Stewart, Robert J; Wollheim, Wilfred M

    2013-01-01

    Major strategic issues facing the global thermoelectric sector include environmental regulation, climate change and increasing electricity demand. We have addressed such issues by modeling thermoelectric generation in the Northeastern United States that is reliant on cooling under five sensitivity tests to evaluate losses/gains in power production, thermal pollution and suitable aquatic habitat, comparing the contemporary baseline (2000–2010) with potential future states. Integral to the analysis, we developed a methodology to quantify river water availability for cooling, which we define as an ecosystem service. Projected climate conditions reduce river water available for efficient power plant operations and the river’s capacity to absorb waste heat, causing a loss of regional thermoelectric generation (RTG) (2.5%) in some summers that, compared to the contemporary baseline, is equal to the summertime electricity consumption of 1.3 million Northeastern US homes. Vulnerabilities to warm temperatures and thermal pollution can be alleviated through the use of more efficient natural gas (NG) power plants that have a reduced reliance on cooling water. Conversion of once-through (OT) to cooling tower (CT) systems and the Clean Water Act (CWA) temperature limit regulation, both of which reduce efficiencies at the single plant level, show potential to yield beneficial increases in RTG. This is achieved by obviating the need for large volumes of river water, thereby reducing plant-to-plant interferences through lowering the impact of upstream thermal pollution and preserving a minimum standard of cooling water. The results and methodology framework presented here, which can be extrapolated to other regional assessments with contrasting climates and thermoelectric profiles, can identify opportunities and support decision-making to achieve more efficient energy systems and riverine ecosystem protection. (letter)

  4. Natural gas: conflict of competence between Federal Government and States; Gas natural: conflito de competencias entre os entes da federacao (Uniao versus Estados)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Meireles, Jose Antonio de Sousa [Petroleo Brasileiro S.A, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

    2008-07-01

    This study examines the regulation of natural gas in Brazil: It is limited to the legal conflict due to the constitution of the republic which determines the distribution of competence between the Federal Government and the States. It introduces the controversy about the limits conferred on the Government by the constitutional law of 1988, related to the transport of natural gas by pipeline, in contrast to the power of states to exploit the services of gas by pipeline. It analyzes the operation of Project Gemini originated by the movement of gas by PETROBRAS in Sao Paulo, without the intervention of the state. The legal opinion favourable to the state argues that the term 'gas delivery services' according to the Brazilian Law leads to the understanding that the use of plural covers all services of gas flowing, without any limitation on the purpose, is a flexible destination (home, companies), or the type of the user. The argument against the state that says these services don't include the supply of gas to companies. In the past one could understand that the energy issue has always been controller by the Government on behalf of the people. It adds up to all this, the economy, high investments and great volume of gas for marketing that makes up the logic of this market, therefore justifying the construction of an own pipeline structure. (author)

  5. Ecosystem services provided by a former gravel extraction site in the uk under two contrasting restoration states

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Phillip J Blaen

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Mineral extraction sites restored for nature conservation can provide areas of high quality habitat and enhance local biodiversity, yet the ecosystem services and associated socio-economic benefits delivered by such sites are not well understood. Here we use a combination of primary field data, benefit transfer, and visitor questionnaires to assess ecosystem services provided by a former gravel mining site restored for nature conservation. We quantify the marginal benefits accrued from the site by comparing ecosystem service delivery from the current nature conservation state to delivery under a highly plausible alternative restoration state; namely a public amenity park. Our results suggest restoration for nature conservation is associated with relatively high carbon storage, but that carbon sequestration is offset to some degree by greenhouse gas fluxes from saturated reed bed areas. We demonstrate through a zonal travel-cost method and individual interviews that restoration for nature conservation contributes to local amenity value by providing specialised wildlife viewing opportunities to visitors. Our results highlight the potential ecosystem services associated with mineral sites restored for nature conservation. Notably, this study strengthens the evidence base to support the case for biodiversity-focused restoration of these extraction sites, both to the minerals industry and governmental planners, by suggesting that such restoration strategies may play an important role in contributing to human well-being without impeding economic progress.

  6. Advanced limiters for ISX

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mioduszewski, P.K.; Edmonds, P.H.; Sheffield, J.

    1982-01-01

    Continuous removal of heat and particles becomes a vital necessity in future steady-state fusion devices. The pump limiter seems to be an attractive concept to combine these two tasks. On ISX, various schemes of pump limiters are being explored with the final goal to furnish the ISX--C device with a pump limiter to handle heat removal and particle control in steady state. The emphasis of the present paper is on pump limiters based on ballistic particle collection. If this concept turns out to be successful in supplying sufficient pumping efficiency, it may be possible to design pump limiters without a leading edge. Analytical calculations of the particle collection efficiency are given for various limiter configurations. Pumping efficiencies of approximately 4--10%, depending on the specific configuration, seem to be feasible and should be sufficient for steady-state operation. Initial experimental results on pump limiter studies in ISX--B confirm the calculated collection efficiencies. By measuring the ion saturation current to the limiter blade and the pressure buildup simultaneously, we found a correlation between the incident particle flux and the pressure rise that agrees well with a simple model

  7. The effect of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania Clean Indoor Air Act on food services and drinking places sales and numbers, 1998-2011.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Zhen-Qiang; Fisher, Monica A

    2013-11-27

    Philadelphia enacted its Clean Indoor Air Act (CIAA) nearly 2 years before the statewide CIAA. In this study, we assessed the economic impact of CIAAs on 4 types of food services and drinking places and addressed the predominant limitation of previous pre-post ban studies, namely the lack of control for confounders and changes in secular trends over time. We analyzed data from Pennsylvania Department of Revenue Quarterly 1998-2011 taxable county-level revenue sales and number of food services and drinking places. Region-specific and type-specific adjusted sales and number of food services and drinking places accounted for consumer spending as a general economic indicator. Segmented regression analysis of interrupted time-series methodology assessed changes in trend and level. Pennsylvania CIAA had no significant effect on adjusted sales or numbers except for an increase in sales in Philadelphia for limited-service eating places and in the surrounding 4 counties for special food services. Philadelphia CIAA was associated with an increase in adjusted numbers of full-service restaurants in Philadelphia and the rest of the state, special food services in Philadelphia, and drinking places in the rest of the state, and a decrease in the number of special food services in the surrounding counties. Philadelphia CIAA had no significant effect on adjusted sales except for an increase in special food services in the rest of the state. Overall, CIAAs had no negative business-related impact and, for the most part, suggest a positive impact on restaurant sales and numbers. Our results provide further support for comprehensive CIAA ordinance for restaurants.

  8. The Limits to Transforming the Environment and the Limits to Sociological Knowledge

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ralph Schroeder

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available This paper argues that the social sciences are fragmented in addressing the environmental challenge of increasing resource depletion. To address this problem, the paper puts forward a framework which encompasses several disciplinary approaches, and above all a long-term historical perspective and a realist sociology of science and technology which, in combination, provide a means of understanding the disruptive changes in the transformation of the environment. The paper then focuses on energy and gives an overview of the various social forces that can potentially counteract the future tensions arising from the foreseeable depletion of energy sources. It argues that only some of these countervailing forces—namely state intervention and technological innovation—provide viable potential solutions to these tensions. However, these solutions themselves face severe constraints. The paper concludes by arguing that a realistic assessment of constraints is the most useful, though limited, service that social science can contribute to our understanding of the relation between social and environmental transformation.

  9. Socio-Demographic Determinants of Maternal Health-Care Service Utilization Among Rural Women in Anambra State, South East Nigeria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Emelumadu, OF; Ukegbu, AU; Ezeama, NN; Kanu, OO; Ifeadike, CO; Onyeonoro, UU

    2014-01-01

    Background: Although, antenatal care (ANC) attendance in sub Saharan Africa is high, however this does not always translate into quality ANC care service utilization. Aim: This study therefore is aimed at exploring pattern of maternal health (MH) services utilization and the socio-demographic factors influencing it in Anambra State, South East Nigeria. Subjects and Methods: A total of 310 women of reproductive age with a previous history of gestation attending ANC services between September, 2007 and August, 2008 in selected Primary Health Centers in Anambra State were studied. Responses were elicited from the study participants using a pre-tested, semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire. Data collected were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17 (SPSS Inc, Chicago Illinois, USA). Association between socio-demographic characteristics and pattern of utilization of ANC and delivery services was measured using χ2-test, Regression analysis was done to identify factors associated with utilization of MH services. P < 0.05 was assumed to be significant. Results: Use of health facility was 293 (97.0%) and 277 (92,7%) out 302 women for ANC and delivery services respectively. Most women attended their first ANC consultation during the preceding pregnancy was after the first trimester and about 31% (94/298) of them had <4 ANC visits prior to delivery. Socio-demographic factors were found to be significantly associated with places where MH care services are accessed. Parity was found to be associated with timing of ANC booking and number of ANC attendance (χ2 = 9.49, P = 0.05). Odds of utilizing formal health facility for MH services were found to be significantly associated with increasing age (P < 0.01) and educational status of mothers (P < 0.001). Conclusions: The study revealed high maternal service utilization and 10% fetal loss, hence the need to address the gaps of late ANC booking and low ANC visits. PMID:24971212

  10. 7 CFR 1260.129 - Customs Service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Customs Service. 1260.129 Section 1260.129... Promotion and Research Order Definitions § 1260.129 Customs Service. Customs Service means the United States Customs Service of the United States Department of the Treasury. ...

  11. Surveillance for Certain Health Behaviors, Chronic Diseases, and Conditions, Access to Health Care, and Use of Preventive Health Services Among States and Selected Local Areas
- Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, United States, 2012.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chowdhury, Pranesh P; Mawokomatanda, Tebitha; Xu, Fang; Gamble, Sonya; Flegel, David; Pierannunzi, Carol; Garvin, William; Town, Machell

    2016-04-29

    Chronic diseases (e.g., heart diseases, cancer, chronic lower respiratory disease, stroke, diabetes, and arthritis) and unintentional injuries are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Behavioral risk factors (e.g., tobacco use, poor diet, physical inactivity, excessive alcohol consumption, failure to use seat belts, and insufficient sleep) are linked to the leading causes of death. Modifying these behavioral risk factors and using preventive health services (e.g., cancer screenings and influenza and pneumococcal vaccination of adults aged ≥65 years) can substantially reduce morbidity and mortality in the U.S. Continuous monitoring of these health-risk behaviors, chronic conditions, and use of preventive services are essential to the development of health promotion strategies, intervention programs, and health policies at the state, city, and county level. January-December 2012. The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is an ongoing, state-based, random-digit-dialed landline- and cellular-telephone survey of noninstitutionalized adults aged ≥18 years residing in the United States. BRFSS collects data on health-risk behaviors, chronic diseases and conditions, access to health care, and use of preventive health services related to the leading causes of death and disability. This report presents results for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, participating U.S. territories that include the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico) and Guam, 187 Metropolitan/Micropolitan Statistical Areas (MMSAs), and 210 counties (n = 475,687 survey respondents) for the year 2012. In 2012, the estimated prevalence of health-risk behaviors, chronic diseases or conditions, access to health care, and use of preventive health services substantially varied by state and territory, MMSA, and county. The following portion of the abstract lists a summary of results by selected BRFSS measures. Each set of proportions refers to the range of

  12. Comparison of USDA Forest Service and stakeholder motivations and experiences in collaborative federal forest governance in the Western United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Emily Jane Davis; Eric M. White; Lee K. Cerveny; David Seesholtz; Meagan L. Nuss; Donald R. Ulrich

    2017-01-01

    In the United States, over 191 million acres of land is managed by the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, a federal government agency. In several western U.S. states, organized collaborative groups have become a de facto governance approach to providing sustained input on management decisions on much public land. This is most extensive in Oregon,...

  13. The Evolving Contingency Contracting Market: Private Sector Self regulation and United States Government Monitoring of Procurement of Stability Operations Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-01-01

    statements of work would be useful in ensuring ethical govern- ment procurement practices. Conclusions The United States conducts diplomatic, defense...THE EVOLVING CONTINGENCY CONTRACTING MARKET: PRIVATE SECTOR SELF-REGULATION AND UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT MONITORING OF PROCUREMENT OF STABILITY...MARKET: PRIVATE SECTOR SELF-REGULATION AND UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT MONITORING OF PROCUREMENT OF STABILITY OPERATIONS SERVICES Whitney Grespin January

  14. Ask! Your Library at the HUB: Penn State Libraries’ Experiences Providing Reference Services at the Campus Student Union Building

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anne Charlotte Behler

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available The Web 2.0 generation presents many service challenges to libraries. College students of today have work styles that emphasize collaboration, preference for flexible and comfortable spaces, and independent discovery of information. Given that challenge, it is important for libraries to experiment with new and unique models of service. Librarians and Staff at the Penn State University Libraries explored offering library service at the main campus’s student union building during two trials, during the Spring and Fall semesters of 2006.

  15. Improving the provision of language services at an academic medical center: ensuring high-quality health communication for limited-English-proficient patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Standiford, Connie J; Nolan, Elizabeth; Harris, Michelle; Bernstein, Steven J

    2009-12-01

    To evaluate and improve the provision of language services at an academic medicine center caring for a diverse population including many limited-English-proficient (LEP) patients. The authors performed a prospective observational study between November 2006 and December 2008 evaluating the provision of language services at the University of Michigan Health System. The primary performance measures were (1) screening patients for their preferred language for health care, (2) assessing the proportion of LEP patients receiving language services from a qualified language services provider, and (3) assessing whether there were any disparities in diabetes care for LEP patients compared with English-speaking patients. The proportion of patients screened for preferred language increased from 59% to 96% with targeted inventions, such as training staff to capture preferred language for health care and correcting prior inaccurate primary language data entry. The proportion of LEP outpatients with a qualified language services provider increased from 19% to 83% through the use of staff and contract interpreters, over-the-phone interpreting and bilingual providers. There were no systematic differences in diabetes quality performance measures between LEP and English-proficient patients. Academic medical centers should measure their provision of language services and compare quality and safety data (e.g., performance measures and adverse events) between LEP and English-speaking patients to identify disparities in care. Leadership support and ongoing training are needed to ensure language-specific services are embedded into clinical care to meet the needs of our diverse patient populations.

  16. Variation In Health Outcomes: The Role Of Spending On Social Services, Public Health, And Health Care, 2000-09.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bradley, Elizabeth H; Canavan, Maureen; Rogan, Erika; Talbert-Slagle, Kristina; Ndumele, Chima; Taylor, Lauren; Curry, Leslie A

    2016-05-01

    Although spending rates on health care and social services vary substantially across the states, little is known about the possible association between variation in state-level health outcomes and the allocation of state spending between health care and social services. To estimate that association, we used state-level repeated measures multivariable modeling for the period 2000-09, with region and time fixed effects adjusted for total spending and state demographic and economic characteristics and with one- and two-year lags. We found that states with a higher ratio of social to health spending (calculated as the sum of social service spending and public health spending divided by the sum of Medicare spending and Medicaid spending) had significantly better subsequent health outcomes for the following seven measures: adult obesity; asthma; mentally unhealthy days; days with activity limitations; and mortality rates for lung cancer, acute myocardial infarction, and type 2 diabetes. Our study suggests that broadening the debate beyond what should be spent on health care to include what should be invested in health-not only in health care but also in social services and public health-is warranted. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

  17. Perm State University HPC-hardware and software services: capabilities for aircraft engine aeroacoustics problems solving

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demenev, A. G.

    2018-02-01

    The present work is devoted to analyze high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure capabilities for aircraft engine aeroacoustics problems solving at Perm State University. We explore here the ability to develop new computational aeroacoustics methods/solvers for computer-aided engineering (CAE) systems to handle complicated industrial problems of engine noise prediction. Leading aircraft engine engineering company, including “UEC-Aviadvigatel” JSC (our industrial partners in Perm, Russia), require that methods/solvers to optimize geometry of aircraft engine for fan noise reduction. We analysed Perm State University HPC-hardware resources and software services to use efficiently. The performed results demonstrate that Perm State University HPC-infrastructure are mature enough to face out industrial-like problems of development CAE-system with HPC-method and CFD-solvers.

  18. Overcoming a limitation of deterministic dense coding with a nonmaximally entangled initial state

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bourdon, P. S.; Gerjuoy, E.

    2010-01-01

    Under two-party deterministic dense coding, Alice communicates (perfectly distinguishable) messages to Bob via a qudit from a pair of entangled qudits in pure state |Ψ>. If |Ψ> represents a maximally entangled state (i.e., each of its Schmidt coefficients is √(1/d)), then Alice can convey to Bob one of d 2 distinct messages. If |Ψ> is not maximally entangled, then Ji et al. [Phys. Rev. A 73, 034307 (2006)] have shown that under the original deterministic dense-coding protocol, in which messages are encoded by unitary operations performed on Alice's qudit, it is impossible to encode d 2 -1 messages. Encoding d 2 -2 messages is possible; see, for example, the numerical studies by Mozes et al. [Phys. Rev. A 71, 012311 (2005)]. Answering a question raised by Wu et al. [Phys. Rev. A 73, 042311 (2006)], we show that when |Ψ> is not maximally entangled, the communications limit of d 2 -2 messages persists even when the requirement that Alice encode by unitary operations on her qudit is weakened to allow encoding by more general quantum operators. We then describe a dense-coding protocol that can overcome this limitation with high probability, assuming the largest Schmidt coefficient of |Ψ> is sufficiently close to √(1/d). In this protocol, d 2 -2 of the messages are encoded via unitary operations on Alice's qudit, and the final (d 2 -1)-th message is encoded via a non-trace-preserving quantum operation.

  19. 77 FR 26361 - Medicaid Program; State Plan Home and Community-Based Services, 5-Year Period for Waivers...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-05-03

    ... outdated, and that ``intellectual disability'' is the appropriate way to discuss this type of disability..., and that ``intellectual disability'' is the appropriate way to discuss this type of disability, the... the benefit, and may not limit or target any service based on age, nature or type of disability...

  20. Nature as capital: Advancing and incorporating ecosystem services in United States federal policies and programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schaefer, Mark; Goldman, Erica; Bartuska, Ann M; Sutton-Grier, Ariana; Lubchenco, Jane

    2015-06-16

    The concept of nature as capital is gaining visibility in policies and practices in both the public and private sectors. This change is due to an improved ability to assess and value ecosystem services, as well as to a growing recognition of the potential of an ecosystem services approach to make tradeoffs in decision making more transparent, inform efficient use of resources, enhance resilience and sustainability, and avoid unintended negative consequences of policy actions. Globally, governments, financial institutions, and corporations have begun to incorporate natural capital accounting in their policies and practices. In the United States, universities, nongovernmental organizations, and federal agencies are actively collaborating to develop and apply ecosystem services concepts to further national environmental and economic objectives. Numerous federal agencies have begun incorporating these concepts into land use planning, water resources management, and preparations for, and responses to, climate change. Going forward, well-defined policy direction will be necessary to institutionalize ecosystem services approaches in federal agencies, as well as to guide intersector and interdisciplinary collaborative research and development efforts. In addition, a new generation of decision support tools are needed to further the practical application of ecosystem services principles in policymaking and commercial activities. Improved performance metrics are needed, as are mechanisms to monitor the status of ecosystem services and assess the environmental and economic impacts of policies and programs. A greater national and international financial commitment to advancing ecosystem services and natural capital accounting would likely have broad, long-term economic and environmental benefits.

  1. H.R. 1972: A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, with respect to benefits for veterans who may have been exposed to ionizing radiation during military service, and for other purposes, introduced in the US House of Representatives, One Hundred Second Congress, First Session, April 22, 1991

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1991-01-01

    This bill was introduced into the US House of Representatives on April 22, 1991 to amend title 38, United States Code. This legislation involves benefits for veterans who may have been exposed to ionizing radiation during military service. Individual sections address the following: expansion of presumption of service connection for certain radiation-exposed reservists; expansion of list of diseases presumed to be service-connected for certain radiation-exposed veterans and elimination of latency-period limitations; and adjudication of claims based on exposure to ionizing radiation

  2. An audience research study to disseminate evidence about comprehensive state mental health parity legislation to US State policymakers: protocol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Purtle, Jonathan; Lê-Scherban, Félice; Shattuck, Paul; Proctor, Enola K; Brownson, Ross C

    2017-06-26

    A large proportion of the US population has limited access to mental health treatments because insurance providers limit the utilization of mental health services in ways that are more restrictive than for physical health services. Comprehensive state mental health parity legislation (C-SMHPL) is an evidence-based policy intervention that enhances mental health insurance coverage and improves access to care. Implementation of C-SMHPL, however, is limited. State policymakers have the exclusive authority to implement C-SMHPL, but sparse guidance exists to inform the design of strategies to disseminate evidence about C-SMHPL, and more broadly, evidence-based treatments and mental illness, to this audience. The aims of this exploratory audience research study are to (1) characterize US State policymakers' knowledge and attitudes about C-SMHPL and identify individual- and state-level attributes associated with support for C-SMHPL; and (2) integrate quantitative and qualitative data to develop a conceptual framework to disseminate evidence about C-SMHPL, evidence-based treatments, and mental illness to US State policymakers. The study uses a multi-level (policymaker, state), mixed method (QUAN→qual) approach and is guided by Kingdon's Multiple Streams Framework, adapted to incorporate constructs from Aarons' Model of Evidence-Based Implementation in Public Sectors. A multi-modal survey (telephone, post-mail, e-mail) of 600 US State policymakers (500 legislative, 100 administrative) will be conducted and responses will be linked to state-level variables. The survey will span domains such as support for C-SMHPL, knowledge and attitudes about C-SMHPL and evidence-based treatments, mental illness stigma, and research dissemination preferences. State-level variables will measure factors associated with C-SMHPL implementation, such as economic climate and political environment. Multi-level regression will determine the relative strength of individual- and state

  3. E-Government Maturity Model for Sustainable E-Government Services from the Perspective of Developing Countries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pusp Raj Joshi

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available Electric government (e-government projects in developing countries are facing many challenges to deliver sustainable e-government services. From the existing literature, we found that most of the studies considered lack of technology, and limitations in budgets and human resources as the main hurdles in effective implementation of e-government services. Along with these limitations, we found that the e-government maturity models adopted by developing countries are failing to provide an appropriate strategic plan to deploy sustainable e-government services. While assessing the existing e-government maturity model, we made several observations on the lack of detail, the technology-centric nature, the emphasis on implementation, and the lack of an adoption strategy. This work contributes toward the proposition of a new e-government maturity model that would address the limitations of exiting e-government maturity models, and would support governments in developing countries to achieve sustainable e-government services. To achieve this goal, we considered five determinants—a detailed process, streamlined services, agile accessibility, use of state-of-the-art technology, and trust and awareness. The proposed model was validated by employing an empirical investigation through case-study and survey methods. We found that both the implementers (government and adopters (users of the e-government services benefited from the proposed model, resulting in an increased sustainability of e-government services.

  4. IoT Service Clustering for Dynamic Service Matchmaking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Shuai; Yu, Le; Cheng, Bo; Chen, Junliang

    2017-07-27

    As the adoption of service-oriented paradigms in the IoT (Internet of Things) environment, real-world devices will open their capabilities through service interfaces, which enable other functional entities to interact with them. In an IoT application, it is indispensable to find suitable services for satisfying users' requirements or replacing the unavailable services. However, from the perspective of performance, it is inappropriate to find desired services from the service repository online directly. Instead, clustering services offline according to their similarity and matchmaking or discovering service online in limited clusters is necessary. This paper proposes a multidimensional model-based approach to measure the similarity between IoT services. Then, density-peaks-based clustering is employed to gather similar services together according to the result of similarity measurement. Based on the service clustering, the algorithms of dynamic service matchmaking, discovery, and replacement will be performed efficiently. Evaluating experiments are conducted to validate the performance of proposed approaches, and the results are promising.

  5. Confidentiality Issues and Use of Sexually Transmitted Disease Services Among Sexually Experienced Persons Aged 15-25 Years - United States, 2013-2015.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leichliter, Jami S; Copen, Casey; Dittus, Patricia J

    2017-03-10

    National-level data are limited regarding confidentiality-related issues and the use of sexually transmitted disease (STD) services for adolescents and young adults. Changes in the U.S. health care system have permitted dependent children to remain on a parent's health insurance plan until the child's 26th birthday and required coverage of certain preventive services, including some STD services, without cost sharing for most plans (1,2). Although these provisions likely facilitate access to the health care system, adolescents and young adults might not seek care or might delay seeking care for certain services because of concerns about confidentiality, including fears that their parents might find out (3,4). Therefore, it is important to examine STD services and confidentiality-related issues among persons aged 15-25 years in the United States. CDC analyzed data from the 2013-2015 National Survey of Family Growth and found that 12.7% of sexually experienced youths (adolescents aged 15-17 years and those young adults aged 18-25 years who were on a parent's insurance plan) would not seek sexual and reproductive health care because of concerns that their parents might find out. Particularly concerned were persons aged 15-17 years (22.6%). Females with confidentiality concerns regarding seeking sexual and reproductive health care reported a lower prevalence of receipt of chlamydia screening (17.1%) than did females who did not cite such concerns (38.7%). More adolescents aged 15-17 years who spent time alone with a health care provider (without a parent in the room) reported receipt of a sexual risk assessment (71.1%) and, among females, chlamydia testing (34.0%), than did those who did not spend time alone (36.6% and 14.9%, respectively). The results indicated that confidentiality-related issues were associated with less reported use of some STD services, especially for younger persons and females. Spending time alone with a provider (i.e., without a parent present

  6. 20 CFR 670.945 - Are Job Corps operators and service providers authorized to pay State or local taxes on gross...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... provider to pay such taxes, the center operator or service provider may pay the taxes with Federal funds... 20 Employees' Benefits 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Are Job Corps operators and service providers authorized to pay State or local taxes on gross receipts? 670.945 Section 670.945 Employees' Benefits...

  7. BioSWR – Semantic Web Services Registry for Bioinformatics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Repchevsky, Dmitry; Gelpi, Josep Ll.

    2014-01-01

    Despite of the variety of available Web services registries specially aimed at Life Sciences, their scope is usually restricted to a limited set of well-defined types of services. While dedicated registries are generally tied to a particular format, general-purpose ones are more adherent to standards and usually rely on Web Service Definition Language (WSDL). Although WSDL is quite flexible to support common Web services types, its lack of semantic expressiveness led to various initiatives to describe Web services via ontology languages. Nevertheless, WSDL 2.0 descriptions gained a standard representation based on Web Ontology Language (OWL). BioSWR is a novel Web services registry that provides standard Resource Description Framework (RDF) based Web services descriptions along with the traditional WSDL based ones. The registry provides Web-based interface for Web services registration, querying and annotation, and is also accessible programmatically via Representational State Transfer (REST) API or using a SPARQL Protocol and RDF Query Language. BioSWR server is located at http://inb.bsc.es/BioSWR/and its code is available at https://sourceforge.net/projects/bioswr/under the LGPL license. PMID:25233118

  8. 20 CFR 404.1019 - Work as a member of a uniformed service of the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... Force Reserve Officers Training Corps, when ordered to annual training duty for 14 days or more... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Work as a member of a uniformed service of the United States. 404.1019 Section 404.1019 Employees' Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION...

  9. 7 CFR 1230.7 - Customs Service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Customs Service. 1230.7 Section 1230.7 Agriculture... CONSUMER INFORMATION Pork Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Order Definitions § 1230.7 Customs Service. Customs Service means the United States Customs Service of the United States Department of...

  10. 42 CFR 440.20 - Outpatient hospital services and rural health clinic services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... Definitions § 440.20 Outpatient hospital services and rural health clinic services. (a) Outpatient hospital... services that are not generally furnished by most hospitals in the State. (b) Rural health clinic services... 42 Public Health 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Outpatient hospital services and rural health...

  11. Planning an organizational wellness initiative at a multi-state social service agency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, J Jay; Grise-Owens, Erlene; Addison, Donia; Marshall, Midaya; Trabue, Donna; Escobar-Ratliff, Laura

    2016-06-01

    Increasingly, organizations in general, and social service organizations, specifically, are recognizing the importance of planning and evaluating organizational wellness initiatives. Yet, few participatory models for carrying out these aims exist. For this study, researchers utilized concept mapping (CM) to explicate a conceptual framework for planning, and subsequently evaluating, a wellness initiative at a multi-state social service organization. CM is a participatory approach that analyzes qualitative data via multi-dimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analyses. Outputs include a number of visual depictions that allow researchers to explore complex relationships among sets of the data. Results from this study indicated that participants (N=64), all of whom were employees of the agency, conceptualized organizational wellness via an eight-cluster solution, or Concept Map. Priority areas of this framework, specifically importance and feasibility, were also explored. After a brief review of pertinent literature, this article explicates the CM methodology utilized in this study, describes results, discusses lessons learned, and identifies apt areas for future research. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. 7 CFR 1207.313 - Customs Service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Customs Service. 1207.313 Section 1207.313... PLAN Potato Research and Promotion Plan Definitions § 1207.313 Customs Service. Customs Service means the United States Customs Service of the United States Department of the Treasury. [56 FR 40229, Aug...

  13. Energy Extension Service Pilot Program: evaluation report after two years. Volume II. State reports

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    None

    1980-04-01

    This report, Vol. II, presents a discussion of the operations of the ten EES pilot state programs during the period from October 1, 1977 through September 30, 1979. Each of the ten pilot states - Alabama, Connecticut, Michigan, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming - received a grant of approximately $1.1 million to develop and implement an 18-month program beginning on October 1, 1977. In September 1978, each State received an additional $370,000 for service-delivery programs for the extension of the pilot program, April 1979 through September 1979. A case-study description of the operations of the pilot program in each State is provided here, with special attention given to the two programs selected in each State for more-detailed study and survey research. Although the thrust of this volume is descriptive, some survey data and analyses are presented for the emphasis programs. Two telephone surveys of clients and a non-client sample were conducted, one at the end of the first year of the pilot program (October 1977 - September 1978) and one at the end of the second year (October 1978 - September 1979).

  14. Assistive technology access and service delivery in resource-limited environments: introduction to a special issue of Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harniss, Mark; Samant Raja, Deepti; Matter, Rebecca

    2015-07-01

    This special issue addresses access to and service delivery of assistive technology (AT) in resource-limited environments (RLEs). Access to AT is complicated not simply by limited funds to purchase AT, but by larger ecosystem weaknesses in RLEs related to legislation and policy, supply, distribution, human resources, consumer demand and accessible design. We present eight diverse articles that address various aspects of the AT ecosystem. These articles represent a wide range of AT, many different countries and different research methods. Our goal is to highlight a topic that has received scant research investigation and limited investment in international development efforts, and offer an insight into how different countries and programs are promoting access to AT. We encourage researchers, funders and non-profit organizations to invest additional effort and resources in this area.

  15. Fiscal pressures and the privatization of local services

    OpenAIRE

    Yolanda K. Kodrzycki

    1998-01-01

    The privatization movement appears to have lost some momentum in the United States over the 1990s. Although local governments continue to look for ways to deliver services more efficiently by using private contractors, the pace at which they are issuing contracts has slowed. In part, the trends may reflect political realities. Public employees naturally are concerned about losing their jobs, and they constitute a sizable share of the electorate. The limited role of outside contractors may als...

  16. Senior and Disabilities Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    State Employees Division of Senior and Disabilities Services DHSS State of Alaska Home Divisions and ; Assistance Senior Benefits Program Medicare Substance Abuse Treatment Alaska Tribal Child Welfare Compact ; Senior and Disabilities Services Page Content Director Duane Mayes photo image. Duane Mayes Director

  17. Features of the Maintenance Agreement (Contract for the Delivery of Goods, Works and Services for State and Municipal Needs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Evgeniya V. Loginova

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Article analyzes main features of the agreement (contract for the delivery of goods, works and services for state and municipal needs. It is shown that civil-legal nature of this agreement, which aims to meet the public interest. It is emphasized that this agreement is the special subject composition. Features of this type of contract, which is manifested in the use of special methods of placing state and municipal orders are shown. It is proved that for the public contract subject of the contract will depend on the considered whether the supply agreement or service contract. Existing in the modern civil law doctrine approaches to understanding the essential terms of the contract are analyzed. Features of pricing in this agreement is shown. It was concluded that, in contrast to other types of civil contracts, state contract has a wide range of essential conditions.

  18. The demand for preventive and restorative dental services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyerhoefer, Chad D; Zuvekas, Samuel H; Manski, Richard

    2014-01-01

    Chronic tooth decay is the most common chronic condition in the United States among children ages 5-17 and also affects a large percentage of adults. Oral health conditions are preventable, but less than half of the US population uses dental services annually. We seek to examine the extent to which limited dental coverage and high out-of-pocket costs reduce dental service use by the nonelderly privately insured and uninsured. Using data from the 2001-2006 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey and an American Dental Association survey of dental procedure prices, we jointly estimate the probability of using preventive and both basic and major restorative services through a correlated random effects specification that controls for endogeneity. We found that dental coverage increased the probability of preventive care use by 19% and the use of restorative services 11% to 16%. Both conditional and unconditional on dental coverage, the use of dental services was not sensitive to out-of-pocket costs. We conclude that dental coverage is an important determinant of preventive dental service use, but other nonprice factors related to consumer preferences, especially education, are equal if not stronger determinants. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  19. EnviroAtlas - Reptile Biodiversity Ecosystem Services Metrics by 12-digit HUC for the Conterminous United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    This EnviroAtlas dataset contains biodiversity metrics reflecting ecosystem services or other aspects of biodiversity for reptile species, based on the number of reptile species as measured by predicted habitat present within a pixel. These metrics were created from grouping national level single species habitat models created by the USGS Gap Analysis Program into smaller ecologically based, phylogeny based, or stakeholder suggested composites. The dataset includes reptile species richness metrics for all reptile species, lizards, snakes, turtles, poisonous reptiles, Natureserve-listed G1,G2, and G3 reptile species, and reptile species listed by IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), PARC (Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation) and SWPARC (Southwest Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation). This dataset was produced by a joint effort of New Mexico State University, US EPA, and USGS to support research and online mapping activities related to EnviroAtlas. EnviroAtlas (https://www.epa.gov/enviroatlas) allows the user to interact with a web-based, easy-to-use, mapping application to view and analyze multiple ecosystem services for the contiguous United States. The dataset is available as downloadable data (https://edg.epa.gov/data/Public/ORD/EnviroAtlas) or as an EnviroAtlas map service. Additional descriptive information about each attribute in this dataset can be found in its associated EnviroAtlas Fact Sheet (https://www.epa

  20. ACA Federal Upper Limits

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — Affordable Care Act Federal Upper Limits (FUL) based on the weighted average of the most recently reported monthly average manufacturer price (AMP) for...

  1. Experience with respect to dose limitation in nuclear fuel service operations in the United Kingdom supporting civil nuclear power programmes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kennedy, J.W.

    1983-01-01

    Within the United Kingdom, the nuclear power generation programme is supported by nuclear fuel services including uranium enrichment, fuel fabrication and reprocessing, operated by British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL). These have entailed the processing of large quantities of uranium and of plutonium and fission products arising in the course of irradiation of fuel in nuclear power stations and have necessitated substantial programmes for the radiological protection of the public and of the workers employed in the industry. This paper presents and reviews the statistics of doses recorded in the various sectors of nuclear fuel services operations against the background of the standards to which the industry is required to operate. A description is given of the development of BNFL policy in keeping with the objective of being recognized as among those industries regarded as safe and the resource implications of measures to reduce doses received by workers are reviewed in the light of experience. Finally, the paper reviews the epidemiological data which have been, and continue to be, collected for workers who have been employed in these nuclear fuel services. (author)

  2. Access to Supplemental Educational Services in the Central Region States. Issues & Answers. REL 2007-No. 007

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barley, Zoe; Wegner, Sandra K.

    2007-01-01

    The Central Region states (Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming) lag behind the nation in the rate of participation in supplemental educational services that schools failing to make adequate progress for three consecutive years must offer to eligible students under the No Child Left Behind Act. This study…

  3. Natural gas: conflict of competence between Federal Government and States; Gas natural: conflito de competencias entre os entes da federacao (Uniao versus Estados)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Meireles, Jose Antonio de Sousa [Petroleo Brasileiro S.A, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

    2008-07-01

    This study examines the regulation of natural gas in Brazil: It is limited to the legal conflict due to the constitution of the republic which determines the distribution of competence between the Federal Government and the States. It introduces the controversy about the limits conferred on the Government by the constitutional law of 1988, related to the transport of natural gas by pipeline, in contrast to the power of states to exploit the services of gas by pipeline. It analyzes the operation of Project Gemini originated by the movement of gas by PETROBRAS in Sao Paulo, without the intervention of the state. The legal opinion favourable to the state argues that the term 'gas delivery services' according to the Brazilian Law leads to the understanding that the use of plural covers all services of gas flowing, without any limitation on the purpose, is a flexible destination (home, companies), or the type of the user. The argument against the state that says these services don't include the supply of gas to companies. In the past one could understand that the energy issue has always been controller by the Government on behalf of the people. It adds up to all this, the economy, high investments and great volume of gas for marketing that makes up the logic of this market, therefore justifying the construction of an own pipeline structure. (author)

  4. Attitudes toward Seeking Professional Counseling Services among Chinese International Students: Acculturation, Ethnic Identity, and English Proficiency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jiaqi; Marbley, Aretha Faye; Bradley, Loretta J.; Lan, William

    2016-01-01

    The authors examined the help-seeking attitudes of 109 Chinese international students studying in the United States. Results revealed that significant relationships exist among acculturation, ethnic identity, English proficiency, and attitudes toward seeking professional counseling services. Limitations and recommendations for future research are…

  5. Ultimate Limit State Model Basis for Assessment of Offshore Wind Energy Converters

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thöns, Sebastian; Faber, M. H.; Rücker, W.

    2012-01-01

    then in combina-tion with the ultimate limit state requirements leads to the specific constitutive relations. As a result finite element models based on shell elements incorporating a structural and a loading model are introduced and described in detail. Applying these models the ultimate capacity of the support...... on the basis of literature review and measurement data from a prototype Multibrid M5000 support structure. In combination with the developed structural and loading models, sensitivity analyses in regard to the responses are peiformed to enhance the understanding and to refine the developed models. To this end...... variables on the responses including nonlinearity the refinement of the model is performed on a quantitative basis....

  6. High energy bursts from a solid state laser operated in the heat capacity limited regime

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albrecht, G.; George, E.V.; Krupke, W.F.; Sooy, W.; Sutton, S.B.

    1996-06-11

    High energy bursts are produced from a solid state laser operated in a heat capacity limited regime. Instead of cooling the laser, the active medium is thermally well isolated. As a result, the active medium will heat up until it reaches some maximum acceptable temperature. The waste heat is stored in the active medium itself. Therefore, the amount of energy the laser can put out during operation is proportional to its mass, the heat capacity of the active medium, and the temperature difference over which it is being operated. The high energy burst capacity of a heat capacity operated solid state laser, together with the absence of a heavy, power consuming steady state cooling system for the active medium, will make a variety of applications possible. Alternately, cooling takes place during a separate sequence when the laser is not operating. Industrial applications include new material working processes. 5 figs.

  7. State-of-practice review of ultrasonic in-service inspection of Class I system piping in commercial nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morris, C.J.; Becker, F.L.

    1982-08-01

    The Pacific Northwest Laboratory conducted a survey to determine the state of practice of ultrasonic in-service inspection of primary system piping in light water reactors. Personnel at four utilities, five inspection organizations, and three domestic reactor manufacturers were interviewed. The intention of the study was to provide a better understanding of the actual practices employed in in-service inspection of primary system piping and of the difficulties encountered

  8. Coproduction of healthcare service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Batalden, Maren; Batalden, Paul; Margolis, Peter; Seid, Michael; Armstrong, Gail; Opipari-Arrigan, Lisa; Hartung, Hans

    2016-07-01

    Efforts to ensure effective participation of patients in healthcare are called by many names-patient centredness, patient engagement, patient experience. Improvement initiatives in this domain often resemble the efforts of manufacturers to engage consumers in designing and marketing products. Services, however, are fundamentally different than products; unlike goods, services are always 'coproduced'. Failure to recognise this unique character of a service and its implications may limit our success in partnering with patients to improve health care. We trace a partial history of the coproduction concept, present a model of healthcare service coproduction and explore its application as a design principle in three healthcare service delivery innovations. We use the principle to examine the roles, relationships and aims of this interdependent work. We explore the principle's implications and challenges for health professional development, for service delivery system design and for understanding and measuring benefit in healthcare services. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

  9. Information Service System For Small Forestowners

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Shaochen; Li, Yun

    Individual owned forests have boomed in the last decade in China. Hundreds of millions of private forest owners have emerged since years of afforestation practice and collective forest ownership reform. Most of those private forest owners are former peasants living in afforestation areas. They thirst for forestry information, such as technique knowledge, forestry policies, finance, marketing, etc. Unfortunately the ways they could get certain information are very limit. Before internet time, Local governments are the main channel they search helps for useful information and technique supports. State and local governments have paid much attention to provide necessary forestry technique supports to those small forest owners and provided varies training projects, issued official forestry information through their websites. While, as state government expands household contract system in the management of collective forestry land, the number of individual forest owners is bumping up in future 5 years. There is still a gap between supplying ability and requirement of forestry information. To construct an effective forestry information service system in next 3-5 year can bridge the gap. This paper discusses the framework of such an information service system.

  10. Adaptive management for ecosystem services (j/a) | Science ...

    Science.gov (United States)

    Management of natural resources for the production of ecosystem services, which are vital for human well-being, is necessary even when there is uncertainty regarding system response to management action. This uncertainty is the result of incomplete controllability, complex internal feedbacks, and non-linearity that often interferes with desired management outcomes, and insufficient understanding of nature and people. Adaptive management was developed to reduce such uncertainty. We present a framework for the application of adaptive management for ecosystem services that explicitly accounts for cross-scale tradeoffs in the production of ecosystem services. Our framework focuses on identifying key spatiotemporal scales (plot, patch, ecosystem, landscape, and region) that encompass dominant structures and processes in the system, and includes within- and cross-scale dynamics, ecosystem service tradeoffs, and management controllability within and across scales. Resilience theory recognizes that a limited set of ecological processes in a given system regulate ecosystem services, yet our understanding of these processes is poorly understood. If management actions erode or remove these processes, the system may shift into an alternative state unlikely to support the production of desired services. Adaptive management provides a process to assess the underlying within and cross-scale tradeoffs associated with production of ecosystem services while proceeding with manage

  11. R. v. Secretary of State for the Environment and others ex parte Greenpeace Limited and others

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Potts, J.

    1994-01-01

    When in April 1992, British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL) applied for authorization to discharge radioactive wastes into sea and air as a result of starting to operate its newly constructed thermal oxide reprocessing plant (THORP) at Sellafield Cumbria, a legal challenge to the Secretary of State's authorization was made by Greenpeace Limited, the environmental campaign group, and Lancashire County Council. They sought to show that the Secretary of State for the Environment had acted illegally in granting authority, because it had not been shown that the nuclear waste emission would produce a net benefit to the public, because no public inquiry had been held into whether the economic benefits outweighed the perceived detrimental effects, and because no authorization can occur without an environmental impact assessment to comply with European Community rules. While these points were proved at the judicial review, administrative law principals meant that the decision went against the complainants, but no costs were awarded showing the courts distaste for the judgement it was obliged to make. (UK)

  12. Enacting a limit case of autonomous service-learning : insights from an ethnographic inquiry into a contemporary application of the pedagogy

    OpenAIRE

    Semler, Mirko

    2017-01-01

    Service-learning (SL) is a socially embedded and experience-based pedagogy that develops the link between theory and practice through community engagement. It fosters learning outcomes for students and benefits for community members. This thesis builds on recent applications of the pedagogy and advances our understanding of SL by studying a limit case of student autonomy in the absence of faculty intervention. Student-community and peer-to-peer relationships are particularly influential on st...

  13. Debugging and Logging Services for Defence Service Oriented Architectures

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-02-01

    Service A software component and callable end point that provides a logically related set of operations, each of which perform a logical step in a...important to note that in some cases when the fault is identified to lie in uneditable code such as program libraries, or outsourced software services ...debugging is limited to characterisation of the fault, reporting it to the software or service provider and development of work-arounds and management

  14. 20 CFR 652.207 - How does a State meet the requirement for universal access to services provided under the Act?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 20 Employees' Benefits 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false How does a State meet the requirement for universal access to services provided under the Act? 652.207 Section 652.207 Employees' Benefits EMPLOYMENT... exercising this discretion, a State must meet the Act's requirements. (b) These requirements are: (1) Labor...

  15. 77 FR 37078 - Product Change-Parcel Select and Parcel Return Service Negotiated Service Agreement

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-20

    ... POSTAL SERVICE Product Change--Parcel Select and Parcel Return Service Negotiated Service... United States Postal Service[supreg] hereby gives notice that, pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 3642 and 3632(b)(3... Postal Service to Add Parcel Select & Parcel Return Service Contract 4 to Competitive Product List...

  16. Opening the black box of transfer systems in public sector health services in a Western state in India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Purohit, Bhaskar; Martineau, Tim; Sheikh, Kabir

    2016-08-22

    Limited research on Posting and Transfer (P&T) policies and systems in the public sector health services and the reluctance for an open debate on the issue makes P&T as a black box. Limited research on P&T in India suggests that P&T policies and systems are either non-existent, weak, poorly implemented or characterized by corruption. Hence the current study aimed at opening the "black box" of P&T systems in public sector health services in India by assessing the implementation gaps between P&T policies and their actual implementation. This was a qualitative study carried out in Department of Health, in a Western State in India. To understand the extant P&T policies, a systems map was first developed with the help of document review and Key Informant (KI) Interviews. Next systems audit was carried out to assess the actual implementation of transfer policies by interviewing Medical Officers (MOs), the group mainly affected by the P&T policies. Job histories were constructed from the interviews to understand transfer processes like frequencies of transfers and to assess if transfer rules were adhered. The analysis is based on a synthesis of document review, 19 in-depth interviews with MOs working with state health department and five in-depth interviews with Key Informants (KIs). Framework analysis approach was used to analyze data using NVIVO. The state has a generic transfer guideline applicable to all government officers but there is no specific transfer policy or guideline for government health personnel. The generic transfer guidelines are weakly implemented indicating a significant gap between policy and actual implementation. The formal transfer guidelines are undermined by a parallel system in which desirable posts are attained, retained or sometimes given up by the use of political connections and money. MOs' experiences of transfers were marked by perceptions of unfairness and irregularities reflected through interviews as well as the job histories. The

  17. Medicaid Expenditures for Fee-for-Service Enrollees with Behavioral Diagnoses: Findings from a 50 State Claims Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ward, Martha C; Lally, Cathy; Druss, Benjamin G

    2017-01-01

    Medicaid is an important funder of care for individuals with behavioral (psychiatric and/or substance use) diagnoses, and expenditures will likely increase with expansion of services under the Affordable Care Act. This study provides national estimates of Medicaid expenditures using a comprehensive sample of fee-for-service Medicaid enrollees with behavioral diagnoses. Data for analysis came from 2003 to 2004 Medicaid Analytic eXtract (MAX) files for 50 states and the District of Columbia. Individuals with behavioral diagnoses had high rates of chronic medical comorbidities, and expenditures for medical (non-behavioral) diagnoses accounted for 74 % of their health care expenditures. Total Medicaid expenditure was approximately 15 billion dollars (equivalent to 18.91 billion in 2016 dollars) for individuals with any behavioral diagnosis. Medicaid fee-for-service beneficiaries with behavioral diagnoses have a high treated prevalence of individual medical comorbid conditions, and the majority of health care expenditures in these individuals are for medical, rather than behavioral health, services.

  18. Grid accounting service: state and future development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Levshina, T; Sehgal, C; Bockelman, B; Weitzel, D; Guru, A

    2014-01-01

    During the last decade, large-scale federated distributed infrastructures have been continually developed and expanded. One of the crucial components of a cyber-infrastructure is an accounting service that collects data related to resource utilization and identity of users using resources. The accounting service is important for verifying pledged resource allocation per particular groups and users, providing reports for funding agencies and resource providers, and understanding hardware provisioning requirements. It can also be used for end-to-end troubleshooting as well as billing purposes. In this work we describe Gratia, a federated accounting service jointly developed at Fermilab and Holland Computing Center at University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The Open Science Grid, Fermilab, HCC, and several other institutions have used Gratia in production for several years. The current development activities include expanding Virtual Machines provisioning information, XSEDE allocation usage accounting, and Campus Grids resource utilization. We also identify the direction of future work: improvement and expansion of Cloud accounting, persistent and elastic storage space allocation, and the incorporation of WAN and LAN network metrics.

  19. Grid accounting service: state and future development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levshina, T.; Sehgal, C.; Bockelman, B.; Weitzel, D.; Guru, A.

    2014-06-01

    During the last decade, large-scale federated distributed infrastructures have been continually developed and expanded. One of the crucial components of a cyber-infrastructure is an accounting service that collects data related to resource utilization and identity of users using resources. The accounting service is important for verifying pledged resource allocation per particular groups and users, providing reports for funding agencies and resource providers, and understanding hardware provisioning requirements. It can also be used for end-to-end troubleshooting as well as billing purposes. In this work we describe Gratia, a federated accounting service jointly developed at Fermilab and Holland Computing Center at University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The Open Science Grid, Fermilab, HCC, and several other institutions have used Gratia in production for several years. The current development activities include expanding Virtual Machines provisioning information, XSEDE allocation usage accounting, and Campus Grids resource utilization. We also identify the direction of future work: improvement and expansion of Cloud accounting, persistent and elastic storage space allocation, and the incorporation of WAN and LAN network metrics.

  20. Early abortion services in the United States: a provider survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benson, Janie; Clark, Kathryn Andersen; Gerhardt, Ann; Randall, Lynne; Dudley, Susan

    2003-04-01

    The objective of this study was to describe the availability of early surgical and medical abortion among members of the National Abortion Federation (NAF) and to identify factors affecting the integration of early abortion services into current services. Telephone interviews were conducted with staff at 113 Planned Parenthood affiliates and independent abortion providers between February and April 2000, prior to FDA approval of mifepristone. Early abortion services were available at 59% of sites, and establishing services was less difficult than or about what was anticipated. Sites generally found it easier to begin offering early surgical abortion than early medical abortion. Physician participation was found to be critical to implementing early services. At sites where some but not all providers offered early abortion, variations in service availability resulted. Given the option of reconsidering early services, virtually all sites would make the same decision again. These data suggest that developing mentoring relationships between experienced early abortion providers/sites and those not offering early services, and training physicians and other staff, are likely to be effective approaches to expanding service availability.

  1. Disrupting Faculty Service: Using Technology to Increase Academic Service Productivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burnett, Perry; Shemroske, Kenneth; Khayum, Mohammed

    2014-01-01

    Scholarly attention regarding faculty involvement has primarily focused on faculty opinions of shared governance and faculty influence on institutional decision-making. There has been limited attention given to academic service productivity and the effectiveness of traditional approaches toward the accomplishment of faculty service requirements.…

  2. 31 CFR 210.11 - Limited liability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Limited liability. 210.11 Section 210.11 Money and Finance: Treasury Regulations Relating to Money and Finance (Continued) FISCAL SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SERVICE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PARTICIPATION IN THE AUTOMATED...

  3. [Determinants of dental services utilization by adults: a population-based study in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina State, Brazil].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miranda, Camila Dal-Bó Coradini; Peres, Marco Aurélio

    2013-11-01

    This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of dental services utilization by adults and to identify associated socioeconomic, demographic, behavioral, and self-awareness factors. A cross-sectional population-based study was conducted with adults living in the urban area of Florianópolis, Santa Catarina State, Brazil, in 2009. Associations were tested between use of dental services and predisposing, enabling, and needs-based variables. Multivariate analysis was conducted using Poisson regression with estimates of prevalence ratios and was stratified by place of last dental appointment. Prevalence of dental services utilization was 66% (95%CI: 62.9-70.7). Dental visits were 20% more frequent among women and 72% more frequent among individuals with more schooling (the latter in both public and private dental services). Individuals with private dental plans used dental services 13% more than those without. Schooling was the most important variable in predicting utilization. The study's results show the importance of monitoring associated factors in order to promote more equitable use of dental services.

  4. Limited Income and Resources

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — Information for those with limited income and resources (those who may qualify for or already have the Low Income Subsidy to lower their prescription drug coverage...

  5. Effects of Storylines Embedded within the Context-Based Approach on Pre-Service Primary School Teachers' Conceptions of Matter and Its States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demircioglu, Hülya; Ayas, Alipasa; Demircioglu, Gökhan; Özmen, Haluk

    2015-01-01

    In this study, the effect of the context-based approach on pre-service primary school teachers' understanding of matter and its states and their attitude towards chemistry was investigated. Using a simple experimental design, the study was conducted with 35 pre-service primary school teachers who were exposed to context-based material with…

  6. Can state early intervention programs meet the increased demand of children suspected of having autism spectrum disorders?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wise, Marissa D; Little, Alison A; Holliman, Jaime Bruce; Wise, Paul H; Wang, C Jason

    2010-01-01

    To determine whether Early Intervention programs have the capacity to accommodate the expected increase in referrals following the American Academy of Pediatrics' 2007 recommendation for universal screening of 18- and 24-month-old children for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). We conducted a telephone survey of all state and territory early. Intervention coordinators about the demand for ASD evaluations, services, and program capacity. We used multivariate models to examine state-level factors associated with the capacity to serve children with ASD. Fifty-two of the 57 coordinators (91%) responded to the survey. Most states reported an increase in demand for ASD-related evaluations (65%) and services (58%) since 2007. In addition, 46% reported that their current capacity poses a challenge to meeting the 45-day time limit for creating the Individualized Family Service Plan. Many states reported that they have shortages of ASD-related personnel, including behavioral therapists (89%), speech-language pathologists (82%), and occupational therapists (79%). Among states that reported the number of service hours (n = 34) 44% indicated that children with ASD receive 5 or fewer weekly service hours. Multivariate models showed that states with a higher percentage of African-American and Latino children were more likely to have provider shortages whereas states with higher population densities were more likely to offer a greater number of service hours. Many Early Intervention programs may not have the capability to address the expected increase in demand for ASD services. Early Intervention programs will likely need enhanced resources to provide all children with suspected ASD with appropriate evaluations and services.

  7. Serviceability design load factors and reliability assessments for reinforced concrete containment structures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han Bong Koo

    1998-01-01

    A reinforced concrete nuclear power plant containment structure is subjected to various random static and stochastic loads during its lifetime. Since these loads involve inherent randomness and other uncertainties, an appropriate probabilistic model for each load must be established in order to perform reliability analysis. The current ASME code for reinforced concrete containment structures are not based on probability concepts. The stochastic nature of natural hazard or accidental loads and the variations of material properties require a probabilistic approach for a rational assessment of structural safety and performance. The paper develops probability-based load factors for the limit state design of reinforced concrete containment structures. The purpose of constructing reinforced concrete containment structure is to protect against radioactive release, and so the use of a serviceability limit state against crack failure that can cause the emission of radioactive materials is suggested as a critical limit state for reinforced concrete containment structures. Load factors for the design of reinforced concrete containment structures are proposed and carried out the reliability assessments. (orig.)

  8. Cogeneration feasibility study in the Gulf States Utilities service area

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1979-12-01

    Sites in the Gulf States Utilities service are considered for cogeneration feasibility studies. The sources of steam considered for the Orange, Texas and Geismar, Lake Charles, and North Baton Rouge, Louisiana sites include oil, coal, HTGR steamers, consolidated nuclear steam system, atmospheric fluidized-bed coal combustion, and coal gasification. Concepts concerning cogeneration fuel systems were categorized by technical applicability as: current technology (pulverized coal-fired boilers and fuel oil-fired boilers), advanced technology under development (HTGR steamers and the CNSS), and advanced technology for future development (atmospheric fluidized-bed boilers and coal gasification). In addition to providing data on cogeneration plant generally useful in the US, the study determined the technical and economic feasibility of steam and electric power cogeneration using coal and nuclear fuels for localized industrial complexes. Details on site selection, plant descriptions, cost estimates, economic analysis, and plant schedule and implementation. (MCW)

  9. The Service Orientation and Employee’s Customer Orientation in Public Services Organizations

    OpenAIRE

    Andrada Iacob

    2015-01-01

    This paper explores the relationships between service orientation and employees’ customer orientation in public services organizations. First, we will review the relevant literature on service orientation and employee’s customer orientation. Based on this theory, the research hypothesis is formulated. The research results will be followed by conclusions, limitations and future directions. At the construct level, we found positive direct relationships between service orientation and employees’...

  10. Medicaid program; state plan home and community-based services, 5-year period for waivers, provider payment reassignment, and home and community-based setting requirements for Community First Choice and home and community-based services (HCBS) waivers. Final rule.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-16

    This final rule amends the Medicaid regulations to define and describe state plan section 1915(i) home and community-based services (HCBS) under the Social Security Act (the Act) amended by the Affordable Care Act. This rule offers states new flexibilities in providing necessary and appropriate services to elderly and disabled populations. This rule describes Medicaid coverage of the optional state plan benefit to furnish home and community based-services and draw federal matching funds. This rule also provides for a 5-year duration for certain demonstration projects or waivers at the discretion of the Secretary, when they provide medical assistance for individuals dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare benefits, includes payment reassignment provisions because state Medicaid programs often operate as the primary or only payer for the class of practitioners that includes HCBS providers, and amends Medicaid regulations to provide home and community-based setting requirements related to the Affordable Care Act for Community First Choice State plan option. This final rule also makes several important changes to the regulations implementing Medicaid 1915(c) HCBS waivers.

  11. WORKFORCE INVESTMENT ACT: States and Localities Increasingly Coordinate Services for TANF Clients, but Better Information Needed on Effective Approaches

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    2002-01-01

    In 1998, the Congress passed the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) to unify a fragmented employment and training system, requiring states to provide most federally funded employment-rated services through one- stop centers...

  12. 47 CFR 74.663 - Modulation limits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Modulation limits. 74.663 Section 74.663 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) BROADCAST RADIO SERVICES EXPERIMENTAL RADIO... Stations § 74.663 Modulation limits. If amplitude modulation is employed, negative modulation peaks shall...

  13. The British Nuclear Fuels Limited (Payment and Loan Limit) Order 1976 No.1298

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1976-01-01

    Sections 11(4) and 12(1) of the Atomic Energy Authority Act 1971 authorise the Secretary of State for Energy (with the consent of the Treasury) to subscribe for shares in British Nuclear Fuels Limited and (with the approval of the Treasury) to make loans to the Company. Section 13 of the Act imposes an overall limit on the total amounts which may be paid or lent to that Company by the Secretary of State or by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, or both collectively, of Pound 50 million, which may be increased to such greater sum not exceeding Pound 75 million as may be specified by the Secretary of State by order. This Order increases the limit to Pound 75 million. (G.B.) [fr

  14. Analysis of an MAP/PH/1 Queue with Flexible Group Service

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brugno Arianna

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available A novel customer batch service discipline for a single server queue is introduced and analyzed. Service to customers is offered in batches of a certain size. If the number of customers in the system at the service completion moment is less than this size, the server does not start the next service until the number of customers in the system reaches this size or a random limitation of the idle time of the server expires, whichever occurs first. Customers arrive according to a Markovian arrival process. An individual customer’s service time has a phase-type distribution. The service time of a batch is defined as the maximum of the individual service times of the customers which form the batch. The dynamics of such a system are described by a multi-dimensional Markov chain. An ergodicity condition for this Markov chain is derived, a stationary probability distribution of the states is computed, and formulas for the main performance measures of the system are provided. The Laplace–Stieltjes transform of the waiting time is obtained. Results are numerically illustrated.

  15. Measuring Service Quality in the Information Services Environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maddox-Swan, Ruth

    1998-01-01

    The purpose of this research was to identify the service factors that influence judgments of customer satisfaction in the academic library/media center. The study, conducted at Florida State University examined the relative importance of these determinants of service quality and compared these results to earlier studies conducted with customers of…

  16. THE EFFECTS OF A DONOR SUPPORT ON DISTRICT HEALTH SERVICE UTILIZATION IN ENUGU STATE, NIGERIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Health outcomes are poor in the developing world, hence donor organizations usually support health care delivery system of developing countries. In 2005, Enugu State commenced implementation of District Health System with a unitarised healthcare delivery structure. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of the PATHS programme (DFID support on the District Health service utilization in Enugu State. Seventy seven supported public primary health care facilities constituted the study population, while same number of non-supported ones were selected randomly as the control health facilities. Retrospective Intervention study technique was used. The study period was the last six months of the PATHS programme in the state (January to June, 2008. The study revealed among other findings that the support by DFID to Enugu State health sector through the PATHS programme resulted in significant increase in district health service utilization, as demonstrated in increased outpatient attendance from 15052 to 73336 (percentage increase of 387.22%, Chi square = 279.11, P and lt;0.0001 and delivery of babies from 647 to 1052 (percentage increase of 62.60%, Chi square = 32.08, P and lt;0.0001 in the supported health facilities. For control facilities, outpatient attendance increased from 8216 to 35126 (percentage increase of 327.50%, Chi square of 233.76, P and lt; 0.0001 and delivery from 370 to 441 (percentage increase of 19.19%, Chi square = 4.60, P and lt;0.47. The difference between the study and control facilities\\' outpatient attendance became wider after the intervention. The out-patient attendance increased significantly in both the study and control facilities after the intervention. Deliveries increased significantly in the supported facilities, while the increase in the control facilities was not significant.

  17. H.R. 2738: A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, with respect to benefits for individuals who may have been exposed to ionizing radiation during military service, and for other purposes, introduced in the US House of Representatives, One Hundred Second Congress, First Session, June 24, 1991

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1991-01-01

    This bill was introduced into the US House of Representatives on June 24, 1991 to amend title 38, United States Code with respect to benefits for individuals who may have been exposed to ionizing radiation during military service. Key features addressed in separate sections include the following: expansion of a list of diseases presumed to be service-connected for certain radiation-exposed veteran and elimination of latency-period limitations; and adjudication of claims based on exposure to ionizing radiation

  18. Users of home-care services in a Nordic welfare state under marketisation: the rich, the poor and the sick.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathew Puthenparambil, Jiby; Kröger, Teppo; Van Aerschot, Lina

    2017-01-01

    Stricter access to public services, outsourcing of municipal services and increasing allocation of public funding for the purchase of private services have resulted in a marketisation wave in Finland. In this context of a Nordic welfare state undergoing marketisation, this paper aims to examine the use of Finnish care services among older people and find out who are using these new kinds of private services. How wide is their use and do the users of private care services differ from those who are using public services? How usual is it to mix both public and private care services? The questionnaire survey data set used here was gathered in 2010 among the population aged 75 and over in the cities of Jyväskylä and Tampere (N = 1436). The methods of analysis used include cross-tabulation, chi-square tests and multinomial logistic regression. The findings showed that among those respondents who used care services (n = 681), 50% used only public services, 24% utilised solely private services and the remaining 26% used both kinds of services. Users of solely private services had significantly higher income and education as well as better health than those using public services only. The users of public services had the lowest education and income levels and usually lived in rented housing. The third group, those mixing both public and private services, reported poorer health than others. The results increase concerns about the development towards a two-tier service system, jeopardising universalistic Nordic principles, and also suggest that older people with the highest needs do not receive adequate services without complementing their public provisions with private services. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  19. A Web service substitution method based on service cluster nets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Du, YuYue; Gai, JunJing; Zhou, MengChu

    2017-11-01

    Service substitution is an important research topic in the fields of Web services and service-oriented computing. This work presents a novel method to analyse and substitute Web services. A new concept, called a Service Cluster Net Unit, is proposed based on Web service clusters. A service cluster is converted into a Service Cluster Net Unit. Then it is used to analyse whether the services in the cluster can satisfy some service requests. Meanwhile, the substitution methods of an atomic service and a composite service are proposed. The correctness of the proposed method is proved, and the effectiveness is shown and compared with the state-of-the-art method via an experiment. It can be readily applied to e-commerce service substitution to meet the business automation needs.

  20. New limits for the 2 νββ decay of 96Zr to excited nuclear states of 96Mo

    Science.gov (United States)

    Finch, Sean; Tornow, Werner

    2015-10-01

    The final results from our search for the 2 νββ decay of 96Zr to excited 0+ and 2+ states of 96Mo are presented. Such measurements provide valuable test cases for 2 νββ -decay nuclear matrix element calculations, which in turn are used to tune 0 νββ -decay nuclear matrix element calculations. After undergoing double- β decay to an excited state, the excited daughter nucleus decays to the ground state, emitting two coincident γ rays. These two γ rays are detected in coincidence by two HPGe detectors sandwiching the 96Zr sample, with a NaI veto in anti-coincidence. This experimental apparatus, located at the Kimballton Underground Research Facility (KURF), has previously measured the 2 νββ decay of 100Mo and 150Nd to excited nuclear states. Experimental limits on the T1 / 2 and corresponding nuclear matrix element are presented for each of these decays. As a byproduct of this experiment, limits were also set on the single- β decay of 96Zr. Supported by DOE Grant: DE-FG02-97ER41033.

  1. A New Coherent Science Content Storyline Astronomy Course for Pre-Service Teachers at Penn State

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palma, Christopher; Plummer, Julia; Earth and Space Science Partnership

    2016-01-01

    The Earth and Space Science Partnership (ESSP) is a collaboration among Penn State scientists, science educators and seven school districts across Pennsylvania. One of the ESSP goals has been to provide pre-service teachers with new or improved science course offerings at Penn State in the Earth and Space Science domains. In particular, we aim to provide students with opportunities to learn astronomy content knowledge through teaching methods that engage them in investigations where they experience the practices used by astronomers. We have designed a new course that builds on our research into students' ideas about Solar System astronomy (Plummer et al. 2015) and the curriculum our team created for a professional development workshop for in-service teachers (Palma et al. 2013) with this same theme. The course was offered for the first time in the spring 2015 semester. We designed the course using a coherent science content storyline approach (see, e.g., Palma et al. 2014), which requires all of the student investigations to build towards a big idea in science; in this case, we chose the model for formation of our Solar System. The course led pre-service teachers through a series of investigations that model the type of instruction we hope they will adopt in their own classrooms. They were presented with a series of research questions that all tie in to the big idea of Solar System formation, and they were responsible for collecting and interpreting their own data to draw evidence-based conclusions about one aspect of this model. Students in the course were assessed on their astronomy content knowledge, but also on their ability to construct arguments using scientific reasoning to answer astronomy questions. In this poster, we will present descriptions of the investigations, the assessments used, and our preliminary results about how the course led this group of pre-service teachers to improved understanding of astronomy content and the practices astronomers use in

  2. Housing growth in and near United States protected areas limits their conservation value.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Radeloff, Volker C; Stewart, Susan I; Hawbaker, Todd J; Gimmi, Urs; Pidgeon, Anna M; Flather, Curtis H; Hammer, Roger B; Helmers, David P

    2010-01-12

    Protected areas are crucial for biodiversity conservation because they provide safe havens for species threatened by land-use change and resulting habitat loss. However, protected areas are only effective when they stop habitat loss within their boundaries, and are connected via corridors to other wild areas. The effectiveness of protected areas is threatened by development; however, the extent of this threat is unknown. We compiled spatially-detailed housing growth data from 1940 to 2030, and quantified growth for each wilderness area, national park, and national forest in the conterminous United States. Our findings show that housing development in the United States may severely limit the ability of protected areas to function as a modern "Noah's Ark." Between 1940 and 2000, 28 million housing units were built within 50 km of protected areas, and 940,000 were built within national forests. Housing growth rates during the 1990s within 1 km of protected areas (20% per decade) outpaced the national average (13%). If long-term trends continue, another 17 million housing units will be built within 50 km of protected areas by 2030 (1 million within 1 km), greatly diminishing their conservation value. US protected areas are increasingly isolated, housing development in their surroundings is decreasing their effective size, and national forests are even threatened by habitat loss within their administrative boundaries. Protected areas in the United States are thus threatened similarly to those in developing countries. However, housing growth poses the main threat to protected areas in the United States whereas deforestation is the main threat in developing countries.

  3. 76 FR 51257 - First-Class Package Service

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-18

    ... Services and Parcel Select mailpieces, all mail sent to military addresses within the United States and to...: Final rule. SUMMARY: The Postal Service is revising Mailing Standards of the United States Postal... Service parcels will receive the same service as First-Class Mail, however, parcels mailed at commercial...

  4. Insights in Public Health: In What Ways are Hawaii's HIV Prevention Services Engaging Gay Male Couples and Using Technology?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sophus, Amber I; Fujitani, Loren; Vallabhbhai, Samantha; Antonio, Jo Anna; Yang, Pua Lani; Elliott, Elyssa; Mitchell, Jason W

    2018-02-01

    Partner-oriented services and Health Information and Communication technology (HICT) in the forms of mHealth (eg, smartphone applications), eHealth (eg, interactive websites), telemedicine, and social media play an important and growing role in HIV prevention. Accordingly, the present study sought to describe: (1) the primary and secondary HIV prevention services available in Hawai'i, (2) the prevention services that are available for gay male couples and partners, and (3) the prevention services that use HICT. Information about prevention services and use of HICT were obtained from websites and phone calls made to 19 organizations in the state, including the Hawai'i Department of Health. Overall, partner-oriented services were limited and only 1 couples-based service was currently being offered. Technology, namely social media, was used by 14 organizations, primarily to increase HIV awareness and advertise events. These findings may inform how best to adapt and better leverage the use of innovative technological tools to help expand access to HIV testing and counseling, sexual health education, and case management services for gay male couples and other MSM populations in the state.

  5. The organizational social context of mental health services and clinician attitudes toward evidence-based practice: a United States national study

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    Background Evidence-based practices have not been routinely adopted in community mental health organizations despite the support of scientific evidence and in some cases even legislative or regulatory action. We examined the association of clinician attitudes toward evidence-based practice with organizational culture, climate, and other characteristics in a nationally representative sample of mental health organizations in the United States. Methods In-person, group-administered surveys were conducted with a sample of 1,112 mental health service providers in a nationwide sample of 100 mental health service institutions in 26 states in the United States. The study examines these associations with a two-level Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) analysis of responses to the Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale (EBPAS) at the individual clinician level as a function of the Organizational Social Context (OSC) measure at the organizational level, controlling for other organization and clinician characteristics. Results We found that more proficient organizational cultures and more engaged and less stressful organizational climates were associated with positive clinician attitudes toward adopting evidence-based practice. Conclusions The findings suggest that organizational intervention strategies for improving the organizational social context of mental health services may contribute to the success of evidence-based practice dissemination and implementation efforts by influencing clinician attitudes. PMID:22726759

  6. The organizational social context of mental health services and clinician attitudes toward evidence-based practice: a United States national study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aarons Gregory A

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Evidence-based practices have not been routinely adopted in community mental health organizations despite the support of scientific evidence and in some cases even legislative or regulatory action. We examined the association of clinician attitudes toward evidence-based practice with organizational culture, climate, and other characteristics in a nationally representative sample of mental health organizations in the United States. Methods In-person, group-administered surveys were conducted with a sample of 1,112 mental health service providers in a nationwide sample of 100 mental health service institutions in 26 states in the United States. The study examines these associations with a two-level Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM analysis of responses to the Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale (EBPAS at the individual clinician level as a function of the Organizational Social Context (OSC measure at the organizational level, controlling for other organization and clinician characteristics. Results We found that more proficient organizational cultures and more engaged and less stressful organizational climates were associated with positive clinician attitudes toward adopting evidence-based practice. Conclusions The findings suggest that organizational intervention strategies for improving the organizational social context of mental health services may contribute to the success of evidence-based practice dissemination and implementation efforts by influencing clinician attitudes.

  7. Reduced pollinator service and elevated pollen limitation at the geographic range limit of an annual plant.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moeller, David A; Geber, Monica A; Eckhart, Vincent M; Tiffin, Peter

    2012-05-01

    Mutualisms are well known to influence individual fitness and the population dynamics of partner species, but little is known about whether they influence species distributions and the location of geographic range limits. Here, we examine the contribution of plant-pollinator interactions to the geographic range limit of the California endemic plant Clarkia xantiana ssp. xantiana. We show that pollinator availability declined from the center to the margin of the geographic range consistently across four years of study. This decline in pollinator availability was caused to a greater extent by variation in the abundance of generalist rather than specialist bee pollinators. Climate data suggest that patterns of precipitation in the current and previous year drove variation in bee abundance because of its effects on cues for bee emergence in the current year and the abundance of floral resources in the previous year. Experimental floral manipulations showed that marginal populations had greater outcross pollen limitation of reproduction, in parallel with the decline in pollinator abundance. Although plants are self-compatible, we found no evidence that autonomous selfing contributes to reproduction, and thus no evidence that it alleviates outcross pollen limitation in marginal populations. Furthermore, we found no association between the distance to the range edge and selfing rate, as estimated from sequence and microsatellite variation, indicating that the mating system has not evolved in response to the pollination environment at the range periphery. Overall, our results suggest that dependence on pollinators for reproduction may be an important constraint limiting range expansion in this system.

  8. Twistacene contained molecule for optical nonlinearity: Excited-state based negative refraction and optical limiting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Xingzhi; Xiao, Jinchong; Sun, Ru; Jia, Jidong; Yang, Junyi; Ao, Guanghong; Shi, Guang; Wang, Yuxiao; Zhang, Xueru; Song, Yinglin

    2018-06-01

    Spindle-type molecules containing twisted acenes (PyBTA-1 &PyBTA-2) are designed, synthesized characterized. Picosecond Z-scan experiments under 532 nm show reverse saturable absorption and negative nonlinear refraction, indicating large third-order optical nonlinearity in PyBTA-1. The mechanism of the optical nonlinearity is investigated and the results show that the nonlinear absorption and refraction in PyBTA-1 originates from a charge transfer (CT) state. Furthermore, relatively long lifetime and absorptive cross section of the CT state are measured. Based on the excited state absorption in PyBTA-1, strong optical limiting with ∼0.3 J/cm2 thresholds are obtained when excited by picoseconds and nanoseconds pulses. The findings on nonlinear optics suggest PyBTA-1 a promising material of all optical modulation and laser protection, which enrich the potential applications of these spindle-type molecules. Comparing to the previously reported spindle-type molecules with analogous structures, the introduction of ICT in PyBTA-1 &PyBTA-2 dramatically decreases the two-photon absorption while enhances the nonlinear refraction. The results could be used to selectively tailor the optical nonlinearity in such kind of compounds.

  9. Influence of Counselling Services on Perceived Academic Performance of Secondary School Students in Lagos State

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Foluke Nike Bolu-Steve

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed at looking at the influence of counseling services on perceived academic performance of secondary school students in Lagos State. At the first stage, the researchers purposively selected Ikorodu L.G.A in Lagos State. At the researchers selected two schools (1 Private schools, & 1 Public schools, using simple random technique. Thus, a total of two schools were picked in each of the L.G.A. Finally, simple random sampling was used in selecting eighty students in each L.G.A, thus making a total of two hundred and forty Senior Secondary students that participated in the study. Six hypotheses were generated for the purpose of this study. Data were gathered using a researcher designed instrument tagged “Influence of Counselling Service on Academic Performance of Students Questionnaire (ICAPSQ. The findings of this study showed that there was no significant difference on the basis of age, class level and school type. However a significant difference was found on the basis of respondent’s religion, gender and the number of times the students visited the counselor. It was therefore recommended that the ministry of education should ensure that guidance and counselling units are established in all public and private secondary schools in Nigeria.

  10. State Policies on Service Dogs for Military Veterans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reed, James B

    2015-12-01

    U.S. service members returning home from combat often face physical, mental and emotional challenges. Providing service dogs to these veterans is one method being used successfully to help address the difficulties they face. Under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a service animal is defined as "any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual or other mental disability." The work the dog undertakes must be directly related to the person's disability. Examples include guiding people who are blind, pulling a wheelchair, alerting a person with hearing loss, protecting a person having a seizure, and calming someone with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack or psychiatric episode.

  11. PERCEPTION OF PATIENTS ON ART ABOUT THE SERVICES AVAILED AT LINK ART CENTERS IN SELECTED STATES OF INDIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruchi Sogarwal

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: The present study was attempted to assess the perception of patients on ART about the services availed at Link ART Centers (LAC in selected states of India. Methods: A total of 354 PLHAs were selected from 20 systematic randomly selected LACs from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Results: Study reveals that majority (97% of the patients seeking services from LACs made regular visits to the center. It was found that 57 percent of the patients had spent less than 100 rupees during the last visit. More than 95 percent of the clients reported waiting time less than 30 minutes for availing counseling and collection of drugs at LACs. The mean±SD score of patient’s level of satisfaction with the services availed at LACs is 4.7±0.5. Conclusions: Study concludes that while majority of the patients were satisfied with the services at LACs, there is need of strengthening the existing ‘package’ of services in these centers and expand the network across the country.

  12. PERCEPTION OF PATIENTS ON ART ABOUT THE SERVICES AVAILED AT LINK ART CENTERS IN SELECTED STATES OF INDIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruchi Sogarwal

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: The present study was attempted to assess the perception of patients on ART about the services availed at Link ART Centers (LAC in selected states of India. Methods: A total of 354 PLHAs were selected from 20 systematic randomly selected LACs from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Results: Study reveals that majority (97% of the patients seeking services from LACs made regular visits to the center. It was found that 57 percent of the patients had spent less than 100 rupees during the last visit. More than 95 percent of the clients reported waiting time less than 30 minutes for availing counseling and collection of drugs at LACs. The mean±SD score of patient’s level of satisfaction with the services availed at LACs is 4.7±0.5. Conclusions: Study concludes that while majority of the patients were satisfied with the services at LACs, there is need of strengthening the existing ‘package’ of services in these centers and expand the network across the country.

  13. Financing state newborn screening programs: sources and uses of funds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Kay; Lloyd-Puryear, Michele A; Mann, Marie Y; Ramos, Lauren Raskin; Therrell, Bradford L

    2006-05-01

    Financing for newborn screening is different from virtually all other public health programs. All except 5 screening programs collect fees as the primary source of program funding. A fee-based approach to financing newborn screening has been adopted by most states, to ensure consistent funding for this critical public health activity. Two types of data are reported here, ie, primary data from a survey of 37 state public health agencies and findings from exploratory case studies from 7 states. Most of the programs that participated in this survey (73%) reported that their newborn screening funding increased between 2002 and 2005, typically through increased fees and to a lesser extent through Medicaid, Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant, and state general revenue funding. All of the responding states that collect fees (n = 31) use such funds to support laboratory expenses, and most (70%) finance short-term follow-up services and program management. Nearly one half (47%) finance longer-term follow-up services, case management, or family support beyond diagnosis. Other states (43%) finance genetic or nutritional counseling and formula foods or treatment. Regardless of the source of funds, the available evidence indicates that states are committed to maintaining their programs and securing the necessary financing for the initial screening through diagnosis. Use of federal funding is currently limited; however, pressure to provide dedicated federal funding would likely increase if national recommendations for a uniform newborn screening panel were issued.

  14. Get the Basics Right: A Description of the Key Priorities for Establishing a Neonatal Service in a Resource-Limited Setting in Cambodia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fox-Lewis, Shivani; Genasci Smith, Wyatt; Lor, Vary; McKellar, Gregor; Phal, Chea; Fox-Lewis, Andrew; Turner, Paul; Neou, Leakhena; Turner, Claudia

    2018-05-28

    Worldwide, reduction in under-five mortality has not sufficiently included neonates, who represent 45% of deaths in children of age under five years. The least progress has been observed in resource-limited settings. This mixed methods study conducted at a Cambodian non-governmental paediatric hospital described the key priorities of the ongoing neonatal service. Routinely collected data from the hospital and microbiology databases included the number of admissions, discharges and deaths and the number of cases of bacteraemias (2011-2016). Semi-structured interviews with the management staff explored the essential features of the service. There were 2127 neonatal admissions and 247 deaths. The incidence of facility-based neonatal mortality decreased by 81%. Bacteraemic healthcare-associated infections decreased by 68%. A dedicated area for neonatal care was perceived as crucial, allowing better infection control and delivery of staff training. In this hospital, the neonatal service prioritized basic measures, particularly, having a dedicated neonatal area. Facility-based mortality and bacteraemic healthcare-associated infections decreased.

  15. Nuclear Symbiosis - A Means to Achieve Sustainable Nuclear Growth while Limiting the Spread of Sensitive Nuclear Technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shropshire, David

    2009-01-01

    Global growth of nuclear energy in the 21st century is creating new challenges to limit the spread of nuclear technology without hindering adoption in countries now considering nuclear power. Independent nuclear states desire autonomy over energy choices and seek energy independence. However, this independence comes with high costs for development of new indigenous fuel cycle capabilities. Nuclear supplier states and expert groups have proposed fuel supply assurance mechanisms such as fuel take-back services, international enrichment services and fuel banks in exchange for recipient state concessions on the development of sensitive technologies. Nuclear states are slow to accept any concessions to their rights under the Non-Proliferation Treaty. To date, decisions not to develop indigenous fuel cycle capabilities have been driven primarily by economics. However, additional incentives may be required to offset a nuclear state's perceived loss of energy independence. This paper proposes alternative economic development incentives that could help countries decide to forgo development of sensitive nuclear technologies. The incentives are created through a nuclear-centered industrial complex with 'symbiotic' links to indigenous economic opportunities. This paper also describes a practical tool called the 'Nuclear Materials Exchange' for identifying these opportunities.

  16. Directory of Regional Centers and Educational Programs Providing Services to Deaf/Blind Children and Youth in the United States (Including Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alonso, Lou, Comp.

    Listed in the directory are over 200 educational programs and services for deaf blind children in the United States and U. S. territories. It is noted that the 10 coordinators of regional centers for services to deaf blind children have aided in compilation of the directory. Listings are arranged by state within the New England, Mid-Atlantic…

  17. Interaction and activity coordination of territorial customs bodies of the State fiscal service of Ukraine with local state administrations and local self-government bodies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Олексій Павлович Федотов

    2016-06-01

    Based on the results of the study the author notes that the interaction of the Ukrainian SFS customs offices and local state administrations with local self-government bodies is an inherent quality, link and component of the Ukrainian SFS Customs offices functioning organization, which aims to improve the state customs service implementation standards by the Ukrainian SFS customs houses and to ensure the said implementation efficiency. However, in the course of interaction of the Ukrainian SFS customs with local state administrations and local self-government bodies each of the mentioned organizations specializes in solving their specific tasks in accordance with their subject expertise, and forms a clear organizational system. The complementarity of such kind helps to improve the state customs affairs conductance quality and is realized through the coordination of performance of the Ukrainian SFS customs offices, local state administrations and local self-government bodies as the interaction subjects through normative, informational and analytical provision for the interaction and concretization of the activities of each subject within the planned activities.

  18. The Impact of Mutual Recognition: Inbuilt Limits and Domestic Responses to the Single Market

    OpenAIRE

    Schmidt, S.

    2002-01-01

    What have been the consequences of integrating the single market via mutual recognition? Did competitive deregulation result? Or were its implications less significant than expected? In this paper I analyse two previously highly regulated service sectors, insurance and road haulage, and study the impact of European policies in Germany and France. I find that the Council instituted mutual recognition in a restrictive way. This limits its impact on member states, which is moreover mediated by n...

  19. Mainstreaming ecosystem services in state-level conservation planning: progress and future needs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ryan R. Noe

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Ecosystem services (ES have become an important focus of the conservation movement but have yet to be mainstreamed into environmental policy and management, especially at the state and federal levels. Adoption of an ES approach requires agency personnel to have knowledge or experience in implementing an ES approach and metrics that link potential actions to impacts on ES. We characterize the degree to which ES considerations are taken into account in setting priorities for conservation acquisitions in the U.S. state of Minnesota. We assess two core dimensions of an ES approach: (1 multiobjective targeting and (2 measuring program benefits in terms of increases in human well-being. We assess the degree to which these two dimensions occur in statute and in conservation program decision making. We find that state statute provides clear support for an ES approach in conservation funding mechanisms. However, we find that many of the programs funded through those mechanisms have more traditional habitat-centric approaches. In contrast to statutory emphasis, water quality related metrics were not prominent. We recommend expanding current prioritization systems to include a broader suite of metrics that are linked to human well-being to further mainstream ES in Minnesota. These metrics can be generated from existing data and would allow program managers to better communicate the public benefits of conservation spending.

  20. Standardized Curriculum for Service Station Retailing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mississippi State Dept. of Education, Jackson. Office of Vocational, Technical and Adult Education.

    This curriculum guide for service station retailing was developed by the state of Mississippi to standardize vocational education course titles and core contents. The objectives contained in this document are common to all service station retailing programs in the state. The guide contains objectives for service station retailing I and II courses.…

  1. Current state of seagrass ecosystem services: Research and policy integration

    KAUST Repository

    Ruiz-Frau, A.; Gelcich, S.; Hendriks, I.E.; Duarte, Carlos M.; Marbà , N.

    2017-01-01

    areas; a type of service research bias, provisioning and regulating services have received extensive attention while cultural services remain understudied; a type of discipline bias, the ecological aspects of SGES have been well documented while economic

  2. Atmospheric release advisory capability pilot project at two nuclear power plants and associated state offices of emergency preparedness. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosen, L.C.

    1983-01-01

    A project to demonstrate the feasibility of utilizing Atmospheric Release Advisory Capability (ARAC) limited service with commercial nuclear power plants and their associated state offices of emergency preparedness is discussed. Preliminary planning, installation and testing of the ARAC site facilities at Indian Point Nucler Power Station, New York State; at New York State Office of Emergency Preparedness, Albany, New York; at Rancho Seco Nuclear Generating Station, California; and at the State of California Office of Emergency Services, Sacramento, California, are summarized. ARAC participation in the Robert E. Ginna nuclear generating plant accident in New York on January 25, 1982, is discussed. The ARAC system is evaluated with emphasis on communications, the suite of models contained within the ARAC system, and the staff. The implications of this project in designing the next-generation ARAC system to service federal and state needs are assessed

  3. Duration of slip-resistant shoe usage and the rate of slipping in limited-service restaurants: results from a prospective and crossover study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verma, Santosh K; Zhao, Zhe; Courtney, Theodore K; Chang, Wen-Ruey; Lombardi, David A; Huang, Yueng-Hsiang; Brennan, Melanye J; Perry, Melissa J

    2014-01-01

    Several studies have indicated that slip-resistant shoes may have a positive effect on reducing the risk of slips and falls, a leading cause of injury at work. Few studies, however, have examined how duration of shoe usage affects their slip-resistance properties. This study examined the association between the duration of slip-resistant shoes usage and the self-reported rate of slipping in limited-service restaurant workers. A total of 475 workers from 36 limited-service restaurants in the USA were recruited to participate in a 12-week prospective study of workplace slipping. Of the 475 participants, 83 reported changing to a new pair of shoes at least once during the 12-week follow-up. The results show that slip-resistant shoes worn for less than six months were moderately more effective than those worn for more than six months. Changing to a new pair of shoes among those wearing slip-resistant shoes at baseline was associated with a 55% reduction in the rate of slipping (RR = 0.45, 95% CI = 0.23-0.89). Further research is needed to develop criteria for the replacement of slip-resistant shoes.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nájera-Aguilar, P; Infante-Castañeda, C

    1990-01-01

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

  5. Limited war, limited autonomy: The state, domestic politics, and the evolution of U.S. nuclear weapons policy (Volumes 1 and 2)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mlyn, E.J.

    1991-01-01

    This study examines the nature of the relationship between state and society for the formation of US nuclear weapons policy. By looking at three case studies that cover the years 1960-1983, Mlyn, seeks to determine whether society and, in turn, domestic politics have been important for the formulation of US nuclear weapons policy. The theoretical approach, which applies the conceptual underpinnings of statism, draws on existing theory in American politics and international relations. The case studies are constructed from interviews with former government officials, archival research, and secondary sources. The substantive focus of the study is the relationship between declaratory policy and targeting policy. For much of the nuclear age, declaratory policy embraced mutual assured destruction (MAD) while actual targeting policy embraced war fighting, or the opposite of MAD. As the state moved toward a declaratory policy that embraced war fighting and limited nuclear options, it lost its autonomy from society in formulating nuclear weapons policy. This loss of autonomy coincided with a relative decline for the US vis a vis the Soviet Union in the overall strategic nuclear balance. The causes and consequences of this shift are explored

  6. 47 CFR 78.115 - Modulation limits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Modulation limits. 78.115 Section 78.115... SERVICE Technical Regulations § 78.115 Modulation limits. (a) If amplitude modulation is employed, negative modulation peaks shall not exceed 100 percent modulation. [37 FR 3292, Feb. 12, 1972, as amended...

  7. 26 CFR 1.851-2 - Limitations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 9 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Limitations. 1.851-2 Section 1.851-2 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (CONTINUED) INCOME TAX (CONTINUED) INCOME TAXES Regulated Investment Companies and Real Estate Investment Trusts § 1.851-2 Limitations. (a...

  8. Corruption in the Civil Service: The dearth of effective service delivery

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The paper discussed the origin of the Nigerian Civil Service and the consequences of corruption that has crippled the service in the recent times. The paper was of the opinion that today's Civil Service in Nigeria is a carryover of the British imperialist administrative structure. The paper stated that the reasons for the corrupt ...

  9. Desire for female sterilization among women wishing to limit births in rural Rakai, Uganda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lutalo, Tom; Gray, Ron; Mathur, Sanyukta; Wawer, Maria; Guwatudde, David; Santelli, John; Nalugoda, Fred; Makumbi, Fredrick

    2015-11-01

    Uganda has an unmet need for family planning of 34% and a total fertility rate of 6.2. We assessed the desire for female sterilization among sexually active women who wanted to stop childbearing in rural Rakai district, Uganda. 7192 sexually active women enrolled in a community cohort between 2002 and 2008 were asked about fertility intentions. Those stating that they did not want another child (limiters) were asked whether they would be willing to accept female sterilization, if available. Trends in desire for sterilization were determined by chi-square test for trend, and Modified Poisson regression was used to estimate prevalence rate ratios and 95% confidence intervals of the associations between desire for sterilization and socio-demographic characteristics and HIV status. From 2002 to 2008, the proportion of limiters dropped (from 47.2% to 43.7%; psterilization significantly increased from 54.2% to 63.1% (psterilization included higher number of living children (>=3), being HIV-infected and having received HIV counseling and testing. There is latent and growing desire for sterilization in this population. Our findings suggest a need to increase permanent contraception services for women who want to limit childbearing in this setting. A large unmet need for permanent female contraception services exists in Uganda. Efforts to increase the method mix by increasing permanent contraception services could reduce fertility rates and undesired births. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. LIMITED RESTAURANT SERVICE : ASCENSION AND WHITSUNTIDE WEEKENDS

    CERN Multimedia

    Restaurant Supervisory Committee

    2002-01-01

    Details of the arrangements to ensure the provision of a restaurant service during the Ascension and Whitsuntide weekends are given below. On all the days indicated, hot meals will be served from 11h30 to 14h00 and 18h00 to 19h30.   RESTAURANT SATELLITE CAFETERIAS KIOSQUE No. Opening times Usual opening times ASCENSION Thursday 9 May 1 2 3 08h00 - 21h00 Friday 10 May 1 2 3   07h00 - 21h00 07h00 - 18h00 Bldg. 40 Bldg. 30, 54 Bldg. 864 08h00 - 17h00     Saturday 11 May 1 2 3 07h00 - 23h00     Sunday 12 May 1 2 3 07h00 - 23h00     WHITSUNTIDE Saturday 18 May 1 2 3 08h00 - 21h00     Sunday 19 May 1 2 3 08h00 - 21h00     Monday 20 May 1 2 3 08h00 - 21h00     Restaurant Supervisory Committee Tel. 77551

  11. LIMITED RESTAURANT SERVICE: ASCENSION AND WHITSUNTIDE WEEKENDS

    CERN Multimedia

    2003-01-01

    Details of the arrangements to ensure the provision of a restaurant service during the Ascension and Whitsuntide weekends are given below. On all the days indicated, hot meals will be served from 11h30 to 14h00 and 18h00 to 19h30. DATERESTAURANT No.Opening times ASCENSION Thursday, May 29 1 2 08h00 - 21h00 3 Friday, May 30 1 2 07h00 - 21h00 3 07h00 - 18h00 Saturday, May 31 1 2 09h00 - 20h00 3 Sunday, June 1st 1 2 09h00 - 20h00 3 WHITSUNTIDE Saturday, June 7 1 08h00 - 21h00 2 3 Sunday, June 8 1 08h00 - 21h00 2 3 Monday, June 9 1 08h00 - 21h00 2 3 SATELLITE CAFETERIAS (Bldgs. 30, 40, 54) will open at the usual hours on Friday 30 May only. The KIOSK will open from 8:00 to 17:00 hrs on Friday 30 May.

  12. Payments and Utilization of Immunization Services Among Children Enrolled in Fee-for-Service Medicaid.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsai, Yuping

    2018-01-01

    To examine the association between state Medicaid vaccine administration fees and children's receipt of immunization services. The study used the 2008-2012 Medicaid Analytic eXtract data and included children aged 0-17 years and continuously enrolled in a Medicaid fee-for-service plan in each study year. Analyses were restricted to 8 states with a Medicaid managed-care penetration rate Medicaid vaccine administration fees, age group, sex, race/ethnicity, state unemployment rate, state managed-care penetration rate, and state and year-fixed effects. A total of 1,678,288 children were included. In 2008-2012, the average proportion of children making ≥1 vaccination visit per year was 31% and the mean number of vaccination visits was 0.9. State Medicaid reimbursements for vaccine administration was positively associated with immunization service utilization; for every $1 increase in the payment amount, the probability of children making ≥1 vaccination visit increased by 0.72 percentage point (95% confidence interval, 0.23-1.21; P=0.01), representing a 2% increase from the mean and the number of vaccination visits increased by 0.03 (95% confidence interval, -0.00 to 0.06; PMedicaid reimbursements for vaccine administration were associated with increased proportion of children receiving immunization services.

  13. State of the art of superconducting fault current limiters and their application to the electric power system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morandi, Antonio

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► The state of the art of superconducting fault current limiters is reviewed. ► An innovative concept of FCL is discussed and the potential of MgB 2 is outlined. ► The use of FCL to allow more interconnection of MV bus-bar is discussed. ► The use of FCL to increase the immunity from voltage dips is discussed. ► The use of FCL to integrate more distributed generation is pointed out. -- Abstract: Modern electric power systems are becoming more and more complex in order to meet new needs. Nowadays a high power quality is mandatory and there is the need to integrate increasing amounts of on-site generation. All this translates in more sophisticated electric network with intrinsically high short circuit rate. This network is vulnerable in case of fault and special protection apparatus and procedures needs to be developed in order to avoid costly or even irreversible damage. A superconducting fault current limiter (SFCL) is a device with a negligible impedance in normal operating conditions that reliably switches to a high impedance state in case of extra-current. Such a device is able to increase the short circuit power of an electric network and to contemporarily eliminate the hazard during the fault. It can be regarded as a key component for future electric power systems. In this paper the state of the art of superconducting fault current limiters mature for applications is briefly resumed and the potential impact of this device on the paradigm of design and operation of power systems is analyzed. In particular the use of the FCL as a mean to allow more interconnection of MV bus-bars as well an increased immunity with respect to the voltage disturbances induced by critical customer is discussed. The possibility to integrate more distributed generation in the distribution grid is also considered

  14. Estimates of carbon stored in harvested wood products from United States Forest Service Northern Region, 1906-2012

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keith Stockmann; Nathaniel Anderson; Jesse Young; Ken Skog; Sean Healey; Dan Loeffler; Edward Butler; J. Greg Jones; James Morrison

    2014-01-01

    Global forests capture and store significant amounts of carbon through photosynthesis. When carbon is removed from forests through harvest, a portion of the harvested carbon is stored in wood products, often for many decades. The United States Forest Service (USFS) and other agencies are interested in accurately accounting for carbon flux associated with harvested wood...

  15. Estimates of carbon stored in harvested wood products from United States Forest Service Southern Region, 1911-2012

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dan Loeffler; Nathaniel Anderson; Keith Stockmann; Ken Skog; Sean Healey; J. Greg Jones; James Morrison; Jesse Young

    2014-01-01

    Global forests capture and store significant amounts of carbon through photosynthesis. When carbon is removed from forests through harvest, a portion of the harvested carbon is stored in wood products, often for many decades. The United States Forest Service (USFS) and other agencies are interested in accurately accounting for carbon flux associated with harvested wood...

  16. Estimates of carbon stored in harvested wood products from United States Forest Service Intermountain Region, 1911-2012

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keith Stockmann; Nathaniel Anderson; Jesse Young; Ken Skog; Sean Healey; Dan Loeffler; Edward Butler; J. Greg Jones; James Morrison

    2014-01-01

    Global forests capture and store significant amounts of carbon through photosynthesis. When carbon is removed from forests through harvest, a portion of the harvested carbon is stored in wood products, often for many decades. The United States Forest Service (USFS) and other agencies are interested in accurately accounting for carbon flux associated with harvested wood...

  17. Estimates of carbon stored in harvested wood products from United States Forest Service Eastern Region, 1911-2012

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dan Loeffler; Nathaniel Anderson; Keith Stockmann; Ken Skog; Sean Healey; J. Greg Jones; James Morrison; Jesse Young

    2014-01-01

    Global forests capture and store significant amounts of carbon through photosynthesis. When carbon is removed from forests through harvest, a portion of the harvested carbon is stored in wood products, often for many decades. The United States Forest Service (USFS) and other agencies are interested in accurately accounting for carbon flux associated with harvested wood...

  18. Estimates of carbon stored in harvested wood products from United States Forest Service Alaska Region, 1910-2012

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dan Loeffler; Nathaniel Anderson; Keith Stockmann; Ken Skog; Sean Healey; J. Greg Jones; James Morrison; Jesse Young

    2014-01-01

    Global forests capture and store significant amounts of carbon through photosynthesis. When carbon is removed from forests through harvest, a portion of the harvested carbon is stored in wood products, often for many decades. The United States Forest Service (USFS) and other agencies are interested in accurately accounting for carbon flux associated with harvested wood...

  19. Estimates of carbon stored in harvested wood products from United States Forest Service Southwestern Region, 1909-2012

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edward Butler; Keith Stockmann; Nathaniel Anderson; Jesse Young; Ken Skog; Sean Healey; Dan Loeffler; J. Greg Jones; James Morrison

    2014-01-01

    Global forests capture and store significant amounts of carbon through photosynthesis. When carbon is removed from forests through harvest, a portion of the harvested carbon is stored in wood products, often for many decades. The United States Forest Service (USFS) and other agencies are interested in accurately accounting for carbon flux associated with harvested wood...

  20. Advanced Protection & Service Restoration for FREEDM Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Urvir

    A smart electric power distribution system (FREEDM system) that incorporates DERs (Distributed Energy Resources), SSTs (Solid State Transformers - that can limit the fault current to two times of the rated current) & RSC (Reliable & Secure Communication) capabilities has been studied in this work in order to develop its appropriate protection & service restoration techniques. First, a solution is proposed that can make conventional protective devices be able to provide effective protection for FREEDM systems. Results show that although this scheme can provide required protection but it can be quite slow. Using the FREEDM system's communication capabilities, a communication assisted Overcurrent (O/C) protection scheme is proposed & results show that by using communication (blocking signals) very fast operating times are achieved thereby, mitigating the problem of conventional O/C scheme. Using the FREEDM System's DGI (Distributed Grid Intelligence) capability, an automated FLISR (Fault Location, Isolation & Service Restoration) scheme is proposed that is based on the concept of 'software agents' & uses lesser data (than conventional centralized approaches). Test results illustrated that this scheme is able to provide a global optimal system reconfiguration for service restoration.