Sample records for ad hoc cost-of-living

  1. Ad hoc vs. Non-ad hoc Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Strategies in Patients With Stable Coronary Artery Disease.

    PubMed

    Toyota, Toshiaki; Morimoto, Takeshi; Shiomi, Hiroki; Ando, Kenji; Ono, Koh; Shizuta, Satoshi; Kato, Takao; Saito, Naritatsu; Furukawa, Yutaka; Nakagawa, Yoshihisa; Horie, Minoru; Kimura, Takeshi

    2017-03-24

    Few studies have evaluated the prevalence and clinical outcomes of ad hoc percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), performing diagnostic coronary angiography and PCI in the same session, in stable coronary artery disease (CAD) patients.Methods and Results:From the CREDO-Kyoto PCI/CABG registry cohort-2, 6,943 patients were analyzed as having stable CAD and undergoing first PCI. Ad hoc PCI and non-ad hoc PCI were performed in 1,722 (24.8%) and 5,221 (75.1%) patients, respectively. The cumulative 5-year incidence and adjusted risk for all-cause death were not significantly different between the 2 groups (15% vs. 15%, P=0.53; hazard ratio: 1.15, 95% confidence interval: 0.98-1.35, P=0.08). Ad hoc PCI relative to non-ad hoc PCI was associated with neutral risk for myocardial infarction, any coronary revascularization, and bleeding, but was associated with a trend towards lower risk for stroke (hazard ratio: 0.78, 95% confidence interval: 0.60-1.02, P=0.06). Ad hoc PCI in stable CAD patients was associated with at least comparable 5-year clinical outcomes as with non-ad hoc PCI. Considering patients' preference and the cost-saving, the ad hoc PCI strategy might be a safe and attractive option for patients with stable CAD, although the prevalence of ad hoc PCI was low in the current study population.

  2. DAWN: Dynamic Ad-hoc Wireless Network

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-06-19

    DAWN: Dynamic Ad-hoc Wireless Network The DAWN (Dynamic Ad-hoc Wireless Networks) project is developing a general theory of complex and dynamic... wireless communication networks. To accomplish this, DAWN adopts a very different approach than those followed in the past and summarized above. DAWN... wireless communication networks. The members of DAWN investigated difference aspects of wireless mobile ad hoc networks (MANET). The views, opinions and/or

  3. Ad Hoc Access Gateway Selection Algorithm

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jie, Liu

    With the continuous development of mobile communication technology, Ad Hoc access network has become a hot research, Ad Hoc access network nodes can be used to expand capacity of multi-hop communication range of mobile communication system, even business adjacent to the community, improve edge data rates. For mobile nodes in Ad Hoc network to internet, internet communications in the peer nodes must be achieved through the gateway. Therefore, the key Ad Hoc Access Networks will focus on the discovery gateway, as well as gateway selection in the case of multi-gateway and handover problems between different gateways. This paper considers the mobile node and the gateway, based on the average number of hops from an average access time and the stability of routes, improved gateway selection algorithm were proposed. An improved gateway selection algorithm, which mainly considers the algorithm can improve the access time of Ad Hoc nodes and the continuity of communication between the gateways, were proposed. This can improve the quality of communication across the network.

  4. Research of Ad Hoc Networks Access Algorithm

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xiang, Ma

    With the continuous development of mobile communication technology, Ad Hoc access network has become a hot research, Ad Hoc access network nodes can be used to expand capacity of multi-hop communication range of mobile communication system, even business adjacent to the community, improve edge data rates. When the ad hoc network is the access network of the internet, the gateway discovery protocol is very important to choose the most appropriate gateway to guarantee the connectivity between ad hoc network and IP based fixed networks. The paper proposes a QoS gateway discovery protocol which uses the time delay and stable route to the gateway selection conditions. And according to the gateway discovery protocol, it also proposes a fast handover scheme which can decrease the handover time and improve the handover efficiency.

  5. Receiver-Based Ad Hoc On Demand Multipath Routing Protocol for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks.

    PubMed

    Al-Nahari, Abdulaziz; Mohamad, Mohd Murtadha

    2016-01-01

    Decreasing the route rediscovery time process in reactive routing protocols is challenging in mobile ad hoc networks. Links between nodes are continuously established and broken because of the characteristics of the network. Finding multiple routes to increase the reliability is also important but requires a fast update, especially in high traffic load and high mobility where paths can be broken as well. The sender node keeps re-establishing path discovery to find new paths, which makes for long time delay. In this paper we propose an improved multipath routing protocol, called Receiver-based ad hoc on demand multipath routing protocol (RB-AOMDV), which takes advantage of the reliability of the state of the art ad hoc on demand multipath distance vector (AOMDV) protocol with less re-established discovery time. The receiver node assumes the role of discovering paths when finding data packets that have not been received after a period of time. Simulation results show the delay and delivery ratio performances are improved compared with AOMDV.

  6. Innovative research of AD HOC network mobility model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Xin

    2017-08-01

    It is difficult for researchers of AD HOC network to conduct actual deployment during experimental stage as the network topology is changeable and location of nodes is unfixed. Thus simulation still remains the main research method of the network. Mobility model is an important component of AD HOC network simulation. It is used to describe the movement pattern of nodes in AD HOC network (including location and velocity, etc.) and decides the movement trail of nodes, playing as the abstraction of the movement modes of nodes. Therefore, mobility model which simulates node movement is an important foundation for simulation research. In AD HOC network research, mobility model shall reflect the movement law of nodes as truly as possible. In this paper, node generally refers to the wireless equipment people carry. The main research contents include how nodes avoid obstacles during movement process and the impacts of obstacles on the mutual relation among nodes, based on which a Node Self Avoiding Obstacle, i.e. NASO model is established in AD HOC network.

  7. Effective Ad-Hoc Committees.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Young, David G.

    1983-01-01

    Ad-hoc committees may be symbolic, informational, or action committees. A literature survey indicates such committees' structural components include a suprasystem and three subsystems involving linkages, production, and implementation. Other variables include size, personal factors, and timing. All the factors carry implications about ad-hoc…

  8. Receiver-Based Ad Hoc On Demand Multipath Routing Protocol for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

    PubMed Central

    Al-Nahari, Abdulaziz; Mohamad, Mohd Murtadha

    2016-01-01

    Decreasing the route rediscovery time process in reactive routing protocols is challenging in mobile ad hoc networks. Links between nodes are continuously established and broken because of the characteristics of the network. Finding multiple routes to increase the reliability is also important but requires a fast update, especially in high traffic load and high mobility where paths can be broken as well. The sender node keeps re-establishing path discovery to find new paths, which makes for long time delay. In this paper we propose an improved multipath routing protocol, called Receiver-based ad hoc on demand multipath routing protocol (RB-AOMDV), which takes advantage of the reliability of the state of the art ad hoc on demand multipath distance vector (AOMDV) protocol with less re-established discovery time. The receiver node assumes the role of discovering paths when finding data packets that have not been received after a period of time. Simulation results show the delay and delivery ratio performances are improved compared with AOMDV. PMID:27258013

  9. Enhanced Weight based DSR for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Verma, Samant; Jain, Sweta

    2011-12-01

    Routing in ad hoc network is a great problematic, since a good routing protocol must ensure fast and efficient packet forwarding, which isn't evident in ad hoc networks. In literature there exists lot of routing protocols however they don't include all the aspects of ad hoc networks as mobility, device and medium constraints which make these protocols not efficient for some configuration and categories of ad hoc networks. Thus in this paper we propose an improvement of Weight Based DSR in order to include some of the aspects of ad hoc networks as stability, remaining battery power, load and trust factor and proposing a new approach Enhanced Weight Based DSR.

  10. 14 CFR 1203.903 - Ad hoc committees.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 5 2011-01-01 2010-01-01 true Ad hoc committees. 1203.903 Section 1203.903 Aeronautics and Space NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION SECURITY PROGRAM NASA Information Security Program Committee § 1203.903 Ad hoc committees. The Chairperson is authorized to...

  11. 14 CFR 1203.903 - Ad hoc committees.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Ad hoc committees. 1203.903 Section 1203.903 Aeronautics and Space NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION SECURITY PROGRAM NASA Information Security Program Committee § 1203.903 Ad hoc committees. The Chairperson is authorized...

  12. Analysis of Pervasive Mobile Ad Hoc Routing Protocols

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Qadri, Nadia N.; Liotta, Antonio

    Mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) are a fundamental element of pervasive networks and therefore, of pervasive systems that truly support pervasive computing, where user can communicate anywhere, anytime and on-the-fly. In fact, future advances in pervasive computing rely on advancements in mobile communication, which includes both infrastructure-based wireless networks and non-infrastructure-based MANETs. MANETs introduce a new communication paradigm, which does not require a fixed infrastructure - they rely on wireless terminals for routing and transport services. Due to highly dynamic topology, absence of established infrastructure for centralized administration, bandwidth constrained wireless links, and limited resources in MANETs, it is challenging to design an efficient and reliable routing protocol. This chapter reviews the key studies carried out so far on the performance of mobile ad hoc routing protocols. We discuss performance issues and metrics required for the evaluation of ad hoc routing protocols. This leads to a survey of existing work, which captures the performance of ad hoc routing algorithms and their behaviour from different perspectives and highlights avenues for future research.

  13. Assured Information Sharing for Ad-Hoc Collaboration

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jin, Jing

    2009-01-01

    Collaborative information sharing tends to be highly dynamic and often ad hoc among organizations. The dynamic natures and sharing patterns in ad-hoc collaboration impose a need for a comprehensive and flexible approach to reflecting and coping with the unique access control requirements associated with the environment. This dissertation…

  14. Topology Control and Routing in Ad Hoc Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Carr-Motyckova, Lenka; Navarra, Alfredo; Johansson, Tomas; Unger, Walter

    Mobile nodes with the ability to communicate with radio signals may form an ad hoc network. In this chapter special problems arising for these ad hoc networks are considered. These include range control, the reduction of interferences, regulation of power consumption, and localization.

  15. CSR: Constrained Selfish Routing in Ad-Hoc Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bassem, Christine; Bestavros, Azer

    Routing protocols for ad-hoc networks assume that the nodes forming the network are either under a single authority, or else that they would be altruistically forwarding data for other nodes with no expectation of a return. These assumptions are unrealistic since in ad-hoc networks, nodes are likely to be autonomous and rational (selfish), and thus unwilling to help unless they have an incentive to do so. Providing such incentives is an important aspect that should be considered when designing ad-hoc routing protocols. In this paper, we propose a dynamic, decentralized routing protocol for ad-hoc networks that provides incentives in the form of payments to intermediate nodes used to forward data for others. In our Constrained Selfish Routing (CSR) protocol, game-theoretic approaches are used to calculate payments (incentives) that ensure both the truthfulness of participating nodes and the fairness of the CSR protocol. We show through simulations that CSR is an energy efficient protocol and that it provides lower communication overhead in the best and average cases compared to existing approaches.

  16. Analysis on Multicast Routing Protocols for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xiang, Ma

    As the Mobile Ad Hoc Networks technologies face a series of challenges like dynamic changes of topological structure, existence of unidirectional channel, limited wireless transmission bandwidth, the capability limitations of mobile termination and etc, therefore, the research to mobile Ad Hoc network routings inevitablely undertake a more important task than those to other networks. Multicast is a mode of communication transmission oriented to group computing, which sends the data to a group of host computers by using single source address. In a typical mobile Ad Hoc Network environment, multicast has a significant meaning. On the one hand, the users of mobile Ad Hoc Network usually need to form collaborative working groups; on the other hand, this is also an important means of fully using the broadcast performances of wireless communication and effectively using the limited wireless channel resources. This paper summarizes and comparatively analyzes the routing mechanisms of various existing multicast routing protocols according to the characteristics of mobile Ad Hoc network.

  17. AD HOC Networks for the Autonomous Car

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ron, Davidescu; Negrus, Eugen

    2017-10-01

    The future of the vehicle is made of cars, roads and infrastructures connected in a two way automated communication in a holistic system. It is a mandatory to use Encryption to maintain Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability in an ad hoc vehicle network. Vehicle to Vehicle communication, requires multichannel interaction between mobile, moving and changing parties to insure the full benefit from data sharing and real time decision making, a network of such users referred as mobile ad hoc network (MANET), however as ad hoc networks were not implemented in such a scale, it is not clear what is the best method and protocol to apply. Furthermore the visibility of secure preferred asymmetric encrypted ad hoc networks in a real time environment of dense moving autonomous vehicles has to be demonstrated, In order to evaluate the performance of Ad Hoc networks in changing conditions a simulation of multiple protocols was performed on large number of mobile nodes. The following common routing protocols were tested, DSDV is a proactive protocol, every mobile station maintains a routing table with all available destinations, DSR is a reactive routing protocol which allows nodes in the MANET to dynamically discover a source route across multiple network hops, AODV is a reactive routing protocol Instead of being proactive. It minimizes the number of broadcasts by creating routes based on demand, SAODV is a secure version of AODV, requires heavyweight asymmetric cryptographic, ARIANDE is a routing protocol that relies on highly efficient symmetric cryptography the concept is primarily based on DSR. A methodical evolution was performed in a various density of transportation, based on known communication bench mark parameters including, Throughput Vs. time, Routing Load per packets and bytes. Out of the none encrypted protocols, It is clear that in terms of performance of throughput and routing load DSR protocol has a clear advantage the high node number mode. The encrypted

  18. Ad hoc Laser networks component technology for modular spacecraft

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huang, Xiujun; Shi, Dele; Ma, Zongfeng; Shen, Jingshi

    2016-03-01

    Distributed reconfigurable satellite is a new kind of spacecraft system, which is based on a flexible platform of modularization and standardization. Based on the module data flow analysis of the spacecraft, this paper proposes a network component of ad hoc Laser networks architecture. Low speed control network with high speed load network of Microwave-Laser communication mode, no mesh network mode, to improve the flexibility of the network. Ad hoc Laser networks component technology was developed, and carried out the related performance testing and experiment. The results showed that ad hoc Laser networks components can meet the demand of future networking between the module of spacecraft.

  19. Ad hoc laser networks component technology for modular spacecraft

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huang, Xiujun; Shi, Dele; Shen, Jingshi

    2017-10-01

    Distributed reconfigurable satellite is a new kind of spacecraft system, which is based on a flexible platform of modularization and standardization. Based on the module data flow analysis of the spacecraft, this paper proposes a network component of ad hoc Laser networks architecture. Low speed control network with high speed load network of Microwave-Laser communication mode, no mesh network mode, to improve the flexibility of the network. Ad hoc Laser networks component technology was developed, and carried out the related performance testing and experiment. The results showed that ad hoc Laser networks components can meet the demand of future networking between the module of spacecraft.

  20. Trust recovery model of Ad Hoc network based on identity authentication scheme

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Jie; Huan, Shuiyuan

    2017-05-01

    Mobile Ad Hoc network trust model is widely used to solve mobile Ad Hoc network security issues. Aiming at the problem of reducing the network availability caused by the processing of malicious nodes and selfish nodes in mobile Ad Hoc network routing based on trust model, an authentication mechanism based on identity authentication mobile Ad Hoc network is proposed, which uses identity authentication to identify malicious nodes, And trust the recovery of selfish nodes in order to achieve the purpose of reducing network congestion and improving network quality. The simulation results show that the implementation of the mechanism can effectively improve the network availability and security.

  1. Validity of using ad hoc methods to analyze secondary traits in case-control association studies.

    PubMed

    Yung, Godwin; Lin, Xihong

    2016-12-01

    Case-control association studies often collect from their subjects information on secondary phenotypes. Reusing the data and studying the association between genes and secondary phenotypes provide an attractive and cost-effective approach that can lead to discovery of new genetic associations. A number of approaches have been proposed, including simple and computationally efficient ad hoc methods that ignore ascertainment or stratify on case-control status. Justification for these approaches relies on the assumption of no covariates and the correct specification of the primary disease model as a logistic model. Both might not be true in practice, for example, in the presence of population stratification or the primary disease model following a probit model. In this paper, we investigate the validity of ad hoc methods in the presence of covariates and possible disease model misspecification. We show that in taking an ad hoc approach, it may be desirable to include covariates that affect the primary disease in the secondary phenotype model, even though these covariates are not necessarily associated with the secondary phenotype. We also show that when the disease is rare, ad hoc methods can lead to severely biased estimation and inference if the true disease model follows a probit model instead of a logistic model. Our results are justified theoretically and via simulations. Applied to real data analysis of genetic associations with cigarette smoking, ad hoc methods collectively identified as highly significant (P<10-5) single nucleotide polymorphisms from over 10 genes, genes that were identified in previous studies of smoking cessation. © 2016 WILEY PERIODICALS, INC.

  2. The effects of malicious nodes on performance of mobile ad hoc networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Fanzhi; Shi, Xiyu; Jassim, Sabah; Adams, Christopher

    2006-05-01

    Wireless ad hoc networking offers convenient infrastructureless communication over the shared wireless channel. However, the nature of ad hoc networks makes them vulnerable to security attacks. Unlike their wired counterpart, infrastructureless ad hoc networks do not have a clear line of defense, their topology is dynamically changing, and every mobile node can receive messages from its neighbors and can be contacted by all other nodes in its neighborhood. This poses a great danger to network security if some nodes behave in a malicious manner. The immediate concern about the security in this type of networks is how to protect the network and the individual mobile nodes against malicious act of rogue nodes from within the network. This paper is concerned with security aspects of wireless ad hoc networks. We shall present results of simulation experiments on ad hoc network's performance in the presence of malicious nodes. We shall investigate two types of attacks and the consequences will be simulated and quantified in terms of loss of packets and other factors. The results show that network performance, in terms of successful packet delivery ratios, significantly deteriorates when malicious nodes act according to the defined misbehaving characteristics.

  3. Auto-Configuration Protocols in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

    PubMed Central

    Villalba, Luis Javier García; Matesanz, Julián García; Orozco, Ana Lucila Sandoval; Díaz, José Duván Márquez

    2011-01-01

    The TCP/IP protocol allows the different nodes in a network to communicate by associating a different IP address to each node. In wired or wireless networks with infrastructure, we have a server or node acting as such which correctly assigns IP addresses, but in mobile ad hoc networks there is no such centralized entity capable of carrying out this function. Therefore, a protocol is needed to perform the network configuration automatically and in a dynamic way, which will use all nodes in the network (or part thereof) as if they were servers that manage IP addresses. This article reviews the major proposed auto-configuration protocols for mobile ad hoc networks, with particular emphasis on one of the most recent: D2HCP. This work also includes a comparison of auto-configuration protocols for mobile ad hoc networks by specifying the most relevant metrics, such as a guarantee of uniqueness, overhead, latency, dependency on the routing protocol and uniformity. PMID:22163814

  4. Greedy data transportation scheme with hard packet deadlines for wireless ad hoc networks.

    PubMed

    Lee, HyungJune

    2014-01-01

    We present a greedy data transportation scheme with hard packet deadlines in ad hoc sensor networks of stationary nodes and multiple mobile nodes with scheduled trajectory path and arrival time. In the proposed routing strategy, each stationary ad hoc node en route decides whether to relay a shortest-path stationary node toward destination or a passing-by mobile node that will carry closer to destination. We aim to utilize mobile nodes to minimize the total routing cost as far as the selected route can satisfy the end-to-end packet deadline. We evaluate our proposed routing algorithm in terms of routing cost, packet delivery ratio, packet delivery time, and usability of mobile nodes based on network level simulations. Simulation results show that our proposed algorithm fully exploits the remaining time till packet deadline to turn into networking benefits of reducing the overall routing cost and improving packet delivery performance. Also, we demonstrate that the routing scheme guarantees packet delivery with hard deadlines, contributing to QoS improvement in various network services.

  5. Greedy Data Transportation Scheme with Hard Packet Deadlines for Wireless Ad Hoc Networks

    PubMed Central

    Lee, HyungJune

    2014-01-01

    We present a greedy data transportation scheme with hard packet deadlines in ad hoc sensor networks of stationary nodes and multiple mobile nodes with scheduled trajectory path and arrival time. In the proposed routing strategy, each stationary ad hoc node en route decides whether to relay a shortest-path stationary node toward destination or a passing-by mobile node that will carry closer to destination. We aim to utilize mobile nodes to minimize the total routing cost as far as the selected route can satisfy the end-to-end packet deadline. We evaluate our proposed routing algorithm in terms of routing cost, packet delivery ratio, packet delivery time, and usability of mobile nodes based on network level simulations. Simulation results show that our proposed algorithm fully exploits the remaining time till packet deadline to turn into networking benefits of reducing the overall routing cost and improving packet delivery performance. Also, we demonstrate that the routing scheme guarantees packet delivery with hard deadlines, contributing to QoS improvement in various network services. PMID:25258736

  6. Sputnik: ad hoc distributed computation.

    PubMed

    Völkel, Gunnar; Lausser, Ludwig; Schmid, Florian; Kraus, Johann M; Kestler, Hans A

    2015-04-15

    In bioinformatic applications, computationally demanding algorithms are often parallelized to speed up computation. Nevertheless, setting up computational environments for distributed computation is often tedious. Aim of this project were the lightweight ad hoc set up and fault-tolerant computation requiring only a Java runtime, no administrator rights, while utilizing all CPU cores most effectively. The Sputnik framework provides ad hoc distributed computation on the Java Virtual Machine which uses all supplied CPU cores fully. It provides a graphical user interface for deployment setup and a web user interface displaying the current status of current computation jobs. Neither a permanent setup nor administrator privileges are required. We demonstrate the utility of our approach on feature selection of microarray data. The Sputnik framework is available on Github http://github.com/sysbio-bioinf/sputnik under the Eclipse Public License. hkestler@fli-leibniz.de or hans.kestler@uni-ulm.de Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  7. Initial Report of the Deans Cyber Warfare Ad Hoc Committee

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-12-22

    in a cyber warfare environment. Among the more notable recent developments have been the establishment of a new Cyber Warfare Command (USCYBERCOM) at...information-warfare-centric organization. Clearly, future Naval Academy graduates will be expected to know more about cyber warfare than those we have...graduated in the past. The Academic Dean and Provost tasked an ad hoc committeethe Cyber Warfare ad hoc Committeeto examine how USNA can best ensure that

  8. MWAHCA: A Multimedia Wireless Ad Hoc Cluster Architecture

    PubMed Central

    Diaz, Juan R.; Jimenez, Jose M.; Sendra, Sandra

    2014-01-01

    Wireless Ad hoc networks provide a flexible and adaptable infrastructure to transport data over a great variety of environments. Recently, real-time audio and video data transmission has been increased due to the appearance of many multimedia applications. One of the major challenges is to ensure the quality of multimedia streams when they have passed through a wireless ad hoc network. It requires adapting the network architecture to the multimedia QoS requirements. In this paper we propose a new architecture to organize and manage cluster-based ad hoc networks in order to provide multimedia streams. Proposed architecture adapts the network wireless topology in order to improve the quality of audio and video transmissions. In order to achieve this goal, the architecture uses some information such as each node's capacity and the QoS parameters (bandwidth, delay, jitter, and packet loss). The architecture splits the network into clusters which are specialized in specific multimedia traffic. The real system performance study provided at the end of the paper will demonstrate the feasibility of the proposal. PMID:24737996

  9. MWAHCA: a multimedia wireless ad hoc cluster architecture.

    PubMed

    Diaz, Juan R; Lloret, Jaime; Jimenez, Jose M; Sendra, Sandra

    2014-01-01

    Wireless Ad hoc networks provide a flexible and adaptable infrastructure to transport data over a great variety of environments. Recently, real-time audio and video data transmission has been increased due to the appearance of many multimedia applications. One of the major challenges is to ensure the quality of multimedia streams when they have passed through a wireless ad hoc network. It requires adapting the network architecture to the multimedia QoS requirements. In this paper we propose a new architecture to organize and manage cluster-based ad hoc networks in order to provide multimedia streams. Proposed architecture adapts the network wireless topology in order to improve the quality of audio and video transmissions. In order to achieve this goal, the architecture uses some information such as each node's capacity and the QoS parameters (bandwidth, delay, jitter, and packet loss). The architecture splits the network into clusters which are specialized in specific multimedia traffic. The real system performance study provided at the end of the paper will demonstrate the feasibility of the proposal.

  10. Hybrid Packet-Pheromone-Based Probabilistic Routing for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kashkouli Nejad, Keyvan; Shawish, Ahmed; Jiang, Xiaohong; Horiguchi, Susumu

    Ad-Hoc networks are collections of mobile nodes communicating using wireless media without any fixed infrastructure. Minimal configuration and quick deployment make Ad-Hoc networks suitable for emergency situations like natural disasters or military conflicts. The current Ad-Hoc networks can only support either high mobility or high transmission rate at a time because they employ static approaches in their routing schemes. However, due to the continuous expansion of the Ad-Hoc network size, node-mobility and transmission rate, the development of new adaptive and dynamic routing schemes has become crucial. In this paper we propose a new routing scheme to support high transmission rates and high node-mobility simultaneously in a big Ad-Hoc network, by combining a new proposed packet-pheromone-based approach with the Hint Based Probabilistic Protocol (HBPP) for congestion avoidance with dynamic path selection in packet forwarding process. Because of using the available feedback information, the proposed algorithm does not introduce any additional overhead. The extensive simulation-based analysis conducted in this paper indicates that the proposed algorithm offers small packet-latency and achieves a significantly higher delivery probability in comparison with the available Hint-Based Probabilistic Protocol (HBPP).

  11. Scalable Architecture for Multihop Wireless ad Hoc Networks

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Arabshahi, Payman; Gray, Andrew; Okino, Clayton; Yan, Tsun-Yee

    2004-01-01

    A scalable architecture for wireless digital data and voice communications via ad hoc networks has been proposed. Although the details of the architecture and of its implementation in hardware and software have yet to be developed, the broad outlines of the architecture are fairly clear: This architecture departs from current commercial wireless communication architectures, which are characterized by low effective bandwidth per user and are not well suited to low-cost, rapid scaling in large metropolitan areas. This architecture is inspired by a vision more akin to that of more than two dozen noncommercial community wireless networking organizations established by volunteers in North America and several European countries.

  12. Quantum load balancing in ad hoc networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hasanpour, M.; Shariat, S.; Barnaghi, P.; Hoseinitabatabaei, S. A.; Vahid, S.; Tafazolli, R.

    2017-06-01

    This paper presents a novel approach in targeting load balancing in ad hoc networks utilizing the properties of quantum game theory. This approach benefits from the instantaneous and information-less capability of entangled particles to synchronize the load balancing strategies in ad hoc networks. The quantum load balancing (QLB) algorithm proposed by this work is implemented on top of OLSR as the baseline routing protocol; its performance is analyzed against the baseline OLSR, and considerable gain is reported regarding some of the main QoS metrics such as delay and jitter. Furthermore, it is shown that QLB algorithm supports a solid stability gain in terms of throughput which stands a proof of concept for the load balancing properties of the proposed theory.

  13. Supporting Dynamic Ad hoc Collaboration Capabilities

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Agarwal, Deborah A.; Berket, Karlo

    2003-07-14

    Modern HENP experiments such as CMS and Atlas involve as many as 2000 collaborators around the world. Collaborations this large will be unable to meet often enough to support working closely together. Many of the tools currently available for collaboration focus on heavy-weight applications such as videoconferencing tools. While these are important, there is a more basic need for tools that support connecting physicists to work together on an ad hoc or continuous basis. Tools that support the day-to-day connectivity and underlying needs of a group of collaborators are important for providing light-weight, non-intrusive, and flexible ways to work collaboratively.more » Some example tools include messaging, file-sharing, and shared plot viewers. An important component of the environment is a scalable underlying communication framework. In this paper we will describe our current progress on building a dynamic and ad hoc collaboration environment and our vision for its evolution into a HENP collaboration environment.« less

  14. A Decentralized VPN Service over Generalized Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fujita, Sho; Shima, Keiichi; Uo, Yojiro; Esaki, Hiroshi

    We present a decentralized VPN service that can be built over generalized mobile ad-hoc networks (Generalized MANETs), in which topologies can be represented as a time-varying directed multigraph. We address wireless ad-hoc networks and overlay ad-hoc networks as instances of Generalized MANETs. We first propose an architecture to operate on various kinds of networks through a single set of operations. Then, we design and implement a decentralized VPN service on the proposed architecture. Through the development and operation of a prototype system we implemented, we found that the proposed architecture makes the VPN service applicable to each instance of Generalized MANETs, and that the VPN service makes it possible for unmodified applications to operate on the networks.

  15. Intelligent Sensing and Classification in DSR-Based Ad Hoc Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dempsey, Tae; Sahin, Gokhan; Morton, Yu T. (Jade

    Wireless ad hoc networks have fundamentally altered today's battlefield, with applications ranging from unmanned air vehicles to randomly deployed sensor networks. Security and vulnerabilities in wireless ad hoc networks have been considered at different layers, and many attack strategies have been proposed, including denial of service (DoS) through the intelligent jamming of the most critical packet types of flows in a network. This paper investigates the effectiveness of intelligent jamming in wireless ad hoc networks using the Dynamic Source Routing (DSR) and TCP protocols and introduces an intelligent classifier to facilitate the jamming of such networks. Assuming encrypted packet headers and contents, our classifier is based solely on the observable characteristics of size, inter-arrival timing, and direction and classifies packets with up to 99.4% accuracy in our experiments.

  16. Global Coverage from Ad-Hoc Constellations in Rideshare Orbits

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ellis, Armin; Mercury, Michael; Brown, Shannon

    2012-01-01

    A promising area of small satellite development is in providing higher temporal resolution than larger satellites. Traditional constellations have required specific orbits and dedicated launch vehicles. In this paper we discuss an alternative architecture in which the individual elements of the constellation are launched as rideshare opportunities. We compare the coverage of such an ad-hoc constellation with more traditional constellations. Coverage analysis is based on actual historical data from rideshare opportunities. Our analysis includes ground coverage and temporal revisits for Polar, Tropics, Temperate, and Global regions, comparing ad-hoc and Walker constellation.

  17. Packets Distributing Evolutionary Algorithm Based on PSO for Ad Hoc Network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, Xiao-Feng

    2018-03-01

    Wireless communication network has such features as limited bandwidth, changeful channel and dynamic topology, etc. Ad hoc network has lots of difficulties in accessing control, bandwidth distribution, resource assign and congestion control. Therefore, a wireless packets distributing Evolutionary algorithm based on PSO (DPSO)for Ad Hoc Network is proposed. Firstly, parameters impact on performance of network are analyzed and researched to obtain network performance effective function. Secondly, the improved PSO Evolutionary Algorithm is used to solve the optimization problem from local to global in the process of network packets distributing. The simulation results show that the algorithm can ensure fairness and timeliness of network transmission, as well as improve ad hoc network resource integrated utilization efficiency.

  18. Ad Hoc Information Extraction for Clinical Data Warehouses.

    PubMed

    Dietrich, Georg; Krebs, Jonathan; Fette, Georg; Ertl, Maximilian; Kaspar, Mathias; Störk, Stefan; Puppe, Frank

    2018-05-01

    Clinical Data Warehouses (CDW) reuse Electronic health records (EHR) to make their data retrievable for research purposes or patient recruitment for clinical trials. However, much information are hidden in unstructured data like discharge letters. They can be preprocessed and converted to structured data via information extraction (IE), which is unfortunately a laborious task and therefore usually not available for most of the text data in CDW. The goal of our work is to provide an ad hoc IE service that allows users to query text data ad hoc in a manner similar to querying structured data in a CDW. While search engines just return text snippets, our systems also returns frequencies (e.g. how many patients exist with "heart failure" including textual synonyms or how many patients have an LVEF < 45) based on the content of discharge letters or textual reports for special investigations like heart echo. Three subtasks are addressed: (1) To recognize and to exclude negations and their scopes, (2) to extract concepts, i.e. Boolean values and (3) to extract numerical values. We implemented an extended version of the NegEx-algorithm for German texts that detects negations and determines their scope. Furthermore, our document oriented CDW PaDaWaN was extended with query functions, e.g. context sensitive queries and regex queries, and an extraction mode for computing the frequencies for Boolean and numerical values. Evaluations in chest X-ray reports and in discharge letters showed high F1-scores for the three subtasks: Detection of negated concepts in chest X-ray reports with an F1-score of 0.99 and in discharge letters with 0.97; of Boolean values in chest X-ray reports about 0.99, and of numerical values in chest X-ray reports and discharge letters also around 0.99 with the exception of the concept age. The advantages of an ad hoc IE over a standard IE are the low development effort (just entering the concept with its variants), the promptness of the results and the

  19. A Group Based Key Sharing and Management Algorithm for Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks

    PubMed Central

    Moharram, Mohammed Morsi; Azam, Farzana

    2014-01-01

    Vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) are one special type of ad hoc networks that involves vehicles on roads. Typically like ad hoc networks, broadcast approach is used for data dissemination. Blind broadcast to each and every node results in exchange of useless and irrelevant messages and hence creates an overhead. Unicasting is not preferred in ad-hoc networks due to the dynamic topology and the resource requirements as compared to broadcasting. Simple broadcasting techniques create several problems on privacy, disturbance, and resource utilization. In this paper, we propose media mixing algorithm to decide what information should be provided to each user and how to provide such information. Results obtained through simulation show that fewer number of keys are needed to share compared to simple broadcasting. Privacy is also enhanced through this approach. PMID:24587749

  20. What Is the Problem of Ad Hoc Hypotheses?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bamford, Greg

    1999-01-01

    Philosophers' attempts to convincingly explicate the received view of an ad hoc hypothesis--that it accounts for only the observations it was designed to account for--have been unsuccessful. Familiar and firmer criteria for evaluating the hypotheses or modified theories so classified are characteristically available. Contains 41 references.…

  1. Decentralized session initiation protocol solution in ad hoc networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Han, Lu; Jin, Zhigang; Shu, Yantai; Dong, Linfang

    2006-10-01

    With the fast development of ad hoc networks, SIP has attracted more and more attention in multimedia service. This paper proposes a new architecture to provide SIP service for ad hoc users, although there is no centralized SIP server deployed. In this solution, we provide the SIP service by the introduction of two nodes: Designated SIP Server (DS) and its Backup Server (BDS). The nodes of ad hoc network designate DS and BDS when they join the session nodes set and when some pre-defined events occur. A new sip message type called REGISTRAR is presented so nodes can send others REGISTRAR message to declare they want to be DS. According to the IP information taken in the message, an algorithm works like the election of DR and BDR in OSPF protocol is used to vote DS and BDS SIP servers. Naturally, the DS will be replaced by BDS when the DS is down for predicable or unpredictable reasons. To facilitate this, the DS should register to the BDS and transfer a backup of the SIP users' database. Considering the possibility DS or BDS may abruptly go down, a special policy is given. When there is no DS and BDS, a new election procedure is triggered just like the startup phase. The paper also describes how SIP works normally in the decentralized model as well as the evaluation of its performance. All sessions based on SIP in ad hoc such as DS voting have been tested in the real experiments within a 500m*500m square area where about 30 random nodes are placed.

  2. Information Sharing Modalities for Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    de Spindler, Alexandre; Grossniklaus, Michael; Lins, Christoph; Norrie, Moira C.

    Current mobile phone technologies have fostered the emergence of a new generation of mobile applications. Such applications allow users to interact and share information opportunistically when their mobile devices are in physical proximity or close to fixed installations. It has been shown how mobile applications such as collaborative filtering and location-based services can take advantage of ad-hoc connectivity to use physical proximity as a filter mechanism inherent to the application logic. We discuss the different modes of information sharing that arise in such settings based on the models of persistence and synchronisation. We present a platform that supports the development of applications that can exploit these modes of ad-hoc information sharing and, by means of an example, show how such an application can be realised based on the supported event model.

  3. 29 CFR 1912.11 - Terms of ad hoc committee members.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 7 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Terms of ad hoc committee members. 1912.11 Section 1912.11 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (CONTINUED) ADVISORY COMMITTEES ON STANDARDS Organizational Matters § 1912.11 Terms of ad...

  4. 29 CFR 1912.11 - Terms of ad hoc committee members.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 7 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Terms of ad hoc committee members. 1912.11 Section 1912.11 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (CONTINUED) ADVISORY COMMITTEES ON STANDARDS Organizational Matters § 1912.11 Terms of ad...

  5. Forming an ad-hoc nearby storage, based on IKAROS and social networking services

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Filippidis, Christos; Cotronis, Yiannis; Markou, Christos

    2014-06-01

    We present an ad-hoc "nearby" storage, based on IKAROS and social networking services, such as Facebook. By design, IKAROS is capable to increase or decrease the number of nodes of the I/O system instance on the fly, without bringing everything down or losing data. IKAROS is capable to decide the file partition distribution schema, by taking on account requests from the user or an application, as well as a domain or a Virtual Organization policy. In this way, it is possible to form multiple instances of smaller capacity higher bandwidth storage utilities capable to respond in an ad-hoc manner. This approach, focusing on flexibility, can scale both up and down and so can provide more cost effective infrastructures for both large scale and smaller size systems. A set of experiments is performed comparing IKAROS with PVFS2 by using multiple clients requests under HPC IOR benchmark and MPICH2.

  6. Interference Drop Scheme: Enhancing QoS Provision in Multi-Hop Ad Hoc Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Luo, Chang-Yi; Komuro, Nobuyoshi; Takahashi, Kiyoshi; Kasai, Hiroyuki; Ueda, Hiromi; Tsuboi, Toshinori

    Ad hoc networking uses wireless technologies to construct networks with no physical infrastructure and so are expected to provide instant networking in areas such as disaster recovery sites and inter-vehicle communication. Unlike conventional wired networks services, services in ad hoc networks are easily disrupted by the frequent changes in traffic and topology. Therefore, solutions to assure the Quality of Services (QoS) in ad hoc networks are different from the conventional ones used in wired networks. In this paper, we propose a new queue management scheme, Interference Drop Scheme (IDS) for ad hoc networks. In the conventional queue management approaches such as FIFO (First-in First-out) and RED (Random Early Detection), a queue is usually managed by a queue length limit. FIFO discards packets according to the queue limit, and RED discards packets in an early and random fashion. IDS, on the other hand, manages the queue according to wireless interference time, which increases as the number of contentions in the MAC layer increases. When there are many MAC contentions, IDS discards TCP data packets. By observing the interference time and discarding TCP data packets, our simulation results show that IDS improves TCP performance and reduces QoS violations in UDP in ad hoc networks with chain, grid, and random topologies. Our simulation results also demonstrate that wireless interference time is a better metric than queue length limit for queue management in multi-hop ad hoc networks.

  7. Impact of network structure on the capacity of wireless multihop ad hoc communication

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Krause, Wolfram; Glauche, Ingmar; Sollacher, Rudolf; Greiner, Martin

    2004-07-01

    As a representative of a complex technological system, the so-called wireless multihop ad hoc communication networks are discussed. They represent an infrastructure-less generalization of todays wireless cellular phone networks. Lacking a central control authority, the ad hoc nodes have to coordinate themselves such that the overall network performs in an optimal way. A performance indicator is the end-to-end throughput capacity. Various models, generating differing ad hoc network structure via differing transmission power assignments, are constructed and characterized. They serve as input for a generic data traffic simulation as well as some semi-analytic estimations. The latter reveal that due to the most-critical-node effect the end-to-end throughput capacity sensitively depends on the underlying network structure, resulting in differing scaling laws with respect to network size.

  8. Data Mining of Extremely Large Ad Hoc Data Sets to Produce Inverted Indices

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-06-01

    NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA THESIS Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited DATA MINING OF...COVERED Master’s Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE DATA MINING OF EXTREMELY LARGE AD HOC DATA SETS TO PRODUCE INVERTED INDICES 5. FUNDING NUMBERS 6...INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK iii Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited DATA MINING OF EXTREMELY LARGE AD HOC DATA SETS TO PRODUCE

  9. Anomaly Detection Techniques for Ad Hoc Networks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cai, Chaoli

    2009-01-01

    Anomaly detection is an important and indispensable aspect of any computer security mechanism. Ad hoc and mobile networks consist of a number of peer mobile nodes that are capable of communicating with each other absent a fixed infrastructure. Arbitrary node movements and lack of centralized control make them vulnerable to a wide variety of…

  10. Distributed generation of shared RSA keys in mobile ad hoc networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Yi-Liang; Huang, Qin; Shen, Ying

    2005-12-01

    Mobile Ad Hoc Networks is a totally new concept in which mobile nodes are able to communicate together over wireless links in an independent manner, independent of fixed physical infrastructure and centralized administrative infrastructure. However, the nature of Ad Hoc Networks makes them very vulnerable to security threats. Generation and distribution of shared keys for CA (Certification Authority) is challenging for security solution based on distributed PKI(Public-Key Infrastructure)/CA. The solutions that have been proposed in the literature and some related issues are discussed in this paper. The solution of a distributed generation of shared threshold RSA keys for CA is proposed in the present paper. During the process of creating an RSA private key share, every CA node only has its own private security. Distributed arithmetic is used to create the CA's private share locally, and that the requirement of centralized management institution is eliminated. Based on fully considering the Mobile Ad Hoc network's characteristic of self-organization, it avoids the security hidden trouble that comes by holding an all private security share of CA, with which the security and robustness of system is enhanced.

  11. A Multi-User Game-Theoretical Multipath Routing Protocol to Send Video-Warning Messages over Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

    PubMed Central

    Mezher, Ahmad Mohamad; Igartua, Mónica Aguilar; de la Cruz Llopis, Luis J.; Segarra, Esteve Pallarès; Tripp-Barba, Carolina; Urquiza-Aguiar, Luis; Forné, Jordi; Gargallo, Emilio Sanvicente

    2015-01-01

    The prevention of accidents is one of the most important goals of ad hoc networks in smart cities. When an accident happens, dynamic sensors (e.g., citizens with smart phones or tablets, smart vehicles and buses, etc.) could shoot a video clip of the accident and send it through the ad hoc network. With a video message, the level of seriousness of the accident could be much better evaluated by the authorities (e.g., health care units, police and ambulance drivers) rather than with just a simple text message. Besides, other citizens would be rapidly aware of the incident. In this way, smart dynamic sensors could participate in reporting a situation in the city using the ad hoc network so it would be possible to have a quick reaction warning citizens and emergency units. The deployment of an efficient routing protocol to manage video-warning messages in mobile Ad hoc Networks (MANETs) has important benefits by allowing a fast warning of the incident, which potentially can save lives. To contribute with this goal, we propose a multipath routing protocol to provide video-warning messages in MANETs using a novel game-theoretical approach. As a base for our work, we start from our previous work, where a 2-players game-theoretical routing protocol was proposed to provide video-streaming services over MANETs. In this article, we further generalize the analysis made for a general number of N players in the MANET. Simulations have been carried out to show the benefits of our proposal, taking into account the mobility of the nodes and the presence of interfering traffic.Finally, we also have tested our approach in a vehicular ad hoc network as an incipient start point to develop a novel proposal specifically designed for VANETs. PMID:25897496

  12. A Multi-User Game-Theoretical Multipath Routing Protocol to Send Video-Warning Messages over Mobile Ad Hoc Networks.

    PubMed

    Mezher, Ahmad Mohamad; Igartua, Mónica Aguilar; de la Cruz Llopis, Luis J; Pallarès Segarra, Esteve; Tripp-Barba, Carolina; Urquiza-Aguiar, Luis; Forné, Jordi; Sanvicente Gargallo, Emilio

    2015-04-17

    The prevention of accidents is one of the most important goals of ad hoc networks in smart cities. When an accident happens, dynamic sensors (e.g., citizens with smart phones or tablets, smart vehicles and buses, etc.) could shoot a video clip of the accident and send it through the ad hoc network. With a video message, the level of seriousness of the accident could be much better evaluated by the authorities (e.g., health care units, police and ambulance drivers) rather than with just a simple text message. Besides, other citizens would be rapidly aware of the incident. In this way, smart dynamic sensors could participate in reporting a situation in the city using the ad hoc network so it would be possible to have a quick reaction warning citizens and emergency units. The deployment of an efficient routing protocol to manage video-warning messages in mobile Ad hoc Networks (MANETs) has important benefits by allowing a fast warning of the incident, which potentially can save lives. To contribute with this goal, we propose a multipath routing protocol to provide video-warning messages in MANETs using a novel game-theoretical approach. As a base for our work, we start from our previous work, where a 2-players game-theoretical routing protocol was proposed to provide video-streaming services over MANETs. In this article, we further generalize the analysis made for a general number of N players in the MANET. Simulations have been carried out to show the benefits of our proposal, taking into account the mobility of the nodes and the presence of interfering traffic. Finally, we also have tested our approach in a vehicular ad hoc network as an incipient start point to develop a novel proposal specifically designed for VANETs.

  13. MAC Protocol for Ad Hoc Networks Using a Genetic Algorithm

    PubMed Central

    Elizarraras, Omar; Panduro, Marco; Méndez, Aldo L.

    2014-01-01

    The problem of obtaining the transmission rate in an ad hoc network consists in adjusting the power of each node to ensure the signal to interference ratio (SIR) and the energy required to transmit from one node to another is obtained at the same time. Therefore, an optimal transmission rate for each node in a medium access control (MAC) protocol based on CSMA-CDMA (carrier sense multiple access-code division multiple access) for ad hoc networks can be obtained using evolutionary optimization. This work proposes a genetic algorithm for the transmission rate election considering a perfect power control, and our proposition achieves improvement of 10% compared with the scheme that handles the handshaking phase to adjust the transmission rate. Furthermore, this paper proposes a genetic algorithm that solves the problem of power combining, interference, data rate, and energy ensuring the signal to interference ratio in an ad hoc network. The result of the proposed genetic algorithm has a better performance (15%) compared to the CSMA-CDMA protocol without optimizing. Therefore, we show by simulation the effectiveness of the proposed protocol in terms of the throughput. PMID:25140339

  14. 75 FR 43565 - NASA Advisory Council; Ad-Hoc Task Force on Planetary Defense; Meeting

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-07-26

    ... NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION [Notice: (10-084)] NASA Advisory Council; Ad-Hoc Task Force on Planetary Defense; Meeting AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration. ACTION... amended, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration announces a two-part meeting of the Ad-Hoc Task...

  15. 75 FR 33838 - NASA Advisory Council; Ad-Hoc Task Force on Planetary Defense; Meeting

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-06-15

    ... NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION [Notice (10-065)] NASA Advisory Council; Ad-Hoc Task Force on Planetary Defense; Meeting AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration. ACTION... amended, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration announces a meeting of the Ad-Hoc Task Force on...

  16. 75 FR 15742 - NASA Advisory Council; Ad-Hoc Task Force on Planetary Defense; Meeting

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-03-30

    ... NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION [Notice: (10-035)] NASA Advisory Council; Ad-Hoc Task Force on Planetary Defense; Meeting AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration. ACTION... amended, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration announces a meeting of the Ad-Hoc Task Force on...

  17. Providing Location Security in Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yan, Gongjun

    2010-01-01

    Location is fundamental information in Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks (VANETs). Almost all VANET applications rely on location information. Therefore it is of importance to ensure location information integrity, meaning that location information is original (from the generator), correct (not bogus or fabricated) and unmodified (value not changed). We…

  18. Typicality Mediates Performance during Category Verification in Both Ad-Hoc and Well-Defined Categories

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sandberg, Chaleece; Sebastian, Rajani; Kiran, Swathi

    2012-01-01

    Background: The typicality effect is present in neurologically intact populations for natural, ad-hoc, and well-defined categories. Although sparse, there is evidence of typicality effects in persons with chronic stroke aphasia for natural and ad-hoc categories. However, it is unknown exactly what influences the typicality effect in this…

  19. On Trust Evaluation in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nguyen, Dang Quan; Lamont, Louise; Mason, Peter C.

    Trust has been considered as a social relationship between two individuals in human society. But, as computer science and networking have succeeded in using computers to automate many tasks, the concept of trust can be generalized to cover the reliability and relationships of non-human interaction, such as, for example, information gathering and data routing. This paper investigates the evaluation of trust in the context of ad hoc networks. Nodes evaluate each other’s behaviour based on observables. A node then decides whether to trust another node to have certain innate abilities. We show how accurate such an evaluation could be. We also provide the minimum number of observations required to obtain an accurate evaluation, a result that indicates that observation-based trust in ad hoc networks will remain a challenging problem. The impact of making networking decisions using trust evaluation on the network connectivity is also examined. In this manner, quantitative decisions can be made concerning trust-based routing with the knowledge of the potential impact on connectivity.

  20. Strategies for generating multiple instances of common and ad hoc categories.

    PubMed

    Vallée-Tourangeau, F; Anthony, S H; Austin, N G

    1998-09-01

    In a free-emission procedure participants were asked to generate instances of a given category and to report, retrospectively, the strategies that they were aware of using in retrieving instances. In two studies reported here, participants generated instances for common categories (e.g. fruit) and for ad hoc categories (e.g., things people keep in their pockets) for 90 seconds and for each category described how they had proceeded in doing so. Analysis of the protocols identified three broad classes of strategy: (1) experiential, where memories of specific or generic personal experiences involving interactions with the category instances acted as cues; (2) semantic, where a consideration of abstract conceptual characteristics of a category were employed to retrieve category exemplars; (3) unmediated, where instances were effortlessly retrieved without mediating cognitions of which subjects were aware. Experiential strategies outnumbered semantic strategies (on average 4 to 1) not only for ad hoc categories but also for common categories. This pattern was noticeably reversed for ad hoc categories that subjects were unlikely to have experienced personally (e.g. things sold on the black market in Russia). Whereas more traditional accounts of semantic memory have favoured decontextualised abstract representations of category knowledge, to the extent that mode of access informs us of knowledge structures, our data suggest that category knowledge is significantly grounded in terms of everyday contexts where category instances are encountered.

  1. Ad Hoc Categories and False Memories: Memory Illusions for Categories Created On-The-Spot

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Soro, Jerônimo C.; Ferreira, Mário B.; Semin, Gün R.; Mata, André; Carneiro, Paula

    2017-01-01

    Three experiments were designed to test whether experimentally created ad hoc associative networks evoke false memories. We used the DRM (Deese, Roediger, McDermott) paradigm with lists of ad hoc categories composed of exemplars aggregated toward specific goals (e.g., going for a picnic) that do not share any consistent set of features. Experiment…

  2. Energy Efficient and QoS sensitive Routing Protocol for Ad Hoc Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Saeed Tanoli, Tariq; Khalid Khan, Muhammad

    2013-12-01

    Efficient routing is an important part of wireless ad hoc networks. Since in ad hoc networks we have limited resources, there are many limitations like bandwidth, battery consumption, and processing cycle etc. Reliability is also necessary since there is no allowance for invalid or incomplete information (and expired data is useless). There are various protocols that perform routing by considering one parameter but ignoring other parameters. In this paper we present a protocol that finds route on the basis of bandwidth, energy and mobility of the nodes participating in the communication.

  3. Passive and Active Analysis in DSR-Based Ad Hoc Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dempsey, Tae; Sahin, Gokhan; Morton, Y. T. (Jade)

    Security and vulnerabilities in wireless ad hoc networks have been considered at different layers, and many attack strategies have been proposed, including denial of service (DoS) through the intelligent jamming of the most critical packet types of flows in a network. This paper investigates the effectiveness of intelligent jamming in wireless ad hoc networks using the Dynamic Source Routing (DSR) and TCP protocols and introduces an intelligent classifier to facilitate the jamming of such networks. Assuming encrypted packet headers and contents, our classifier is based solely on the observable characteristics of size, inter-arrival timing, and direction and classifies packets with up to 99.4% accuracy in our experiments. Furthermore, we investigate active analysis, which is the combination of a classifier and intelligent jammer to invoke specific responses from a victim network.

  4. Reputation-Based Internet Protocol Security: A Multilayer Security Framework for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-09-01

    secure ad-hoc networks of mobile sensors deployed in a hostile environment . These sensors are normally small 86 and resource...Communications Magazine, 51, 2008. 45. Kumar, S.A. “Classification and Review of Security Schemes in Mobile Comput- ing”. Wireless Sensor Network , 2010... Networks ”. Wireless /Mobile Network Security , 2008. 85. Xiao, Y. “Accountability for Wireless LANs, Ad Hoc Networks , and Wireless

  5. Intelligent routing protocol for ad hoc wireless network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Peng, Chaorong; Chen, Chang Wen

    2006-05-01

    A novel routing scheme for mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs), which combines hybrid and multi-inter-routing path properties with a distributed topology discovery route mechanism using control agents is proposed in this paper. In recent years, a variety of hybrid routing protocols for Mobile Ad hoc wireless networks (MANETs) have been developed. Which is proactively maintains routing information for a local neighborhood, while reactively acquiring routes to destinations beyond the global. The hybrid protocol reduces routing discovery latency and the end-to-end delay by providing high connectivity without requiring much of the scarce network capacity. On the other side the hybrid routing protocols in MANETs likes Zone Routing Protocol still need route "re-discover" time when a route between zones link break. Sine the topology update information needs to be broadcast routing request on local zone. Due to this delay, the routing protocol may not be applicable for real-time data and multimedia communication. We utilize the advantages of a clustering organization and multi-routing path in routing protocol to achieve several goals at the same time. Firstly, IRP efficiently saves network bandwidth and reduces route reconstruction time when a routing path fails. The IRP protocol does not require global periodic routing advertisements, local control agents will automatically monitor and repair broke links. Secondly, it efficiently reduces congestion and traffic "bottlenecks" for ClusterHeads in clustering network. Thirdly, it reduces significant overheads associated with maintaining clusters. Fourthly, it improves clusters stability due to dynamic topology changing frequently. In this paper, we present the Intelligent Routing Protocol. First, we discuss the problem of routing in ad hoc networks and the motivation of IRP. We describe the hierarchical architecture of IRP. We describe the routing process and illustrate it with an example. Further, we describe the control manage

  6. Ad Hoc Supervision of General Practice Registrars as a "Community of Practice": Analysis, Interpretation and Re-Presentation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Clement, T.; Brown, J.; Morrison, J.; Nestel, D.

    2016-01-01

    General practice registrars in Australia undertake most of their vocational training in accredited general practices. They typically see patients alone from the start of their community-based training and are expected to seek timely ad hoc support from their supervisor. Such ad hoc encounters are a mechanism for ensuring patient safety, but also…

  7. UMDR: Multi-Path Routing Protocol for Underwater Ad Hoc Networks with Directional Antenna

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Jianmin; Liu, Songzuo; Liu, Qipei; Qiao, Gang

    2018-01-01

    This paper presents a new routing scheme for underwater ad hoc networks based on directional antennas. Ad hoc networks with directional antennas have become a hot research topic because of space reuse may increase networks capacity. At present, researchers have applied traditional self-organizing routing protocols (such as DSR, AODV) [1] [2] on this type of networks, and the routing scheme is based on the shortest path metric. However, such routing schemes often suffer from long transmission delays and frequent link fragmentation along the intermediate nodes of the selected route. This is caused by a unique feature of directional transmission, often called as “deafness”. In this paper, we take a different approach to explore the advantages of space reuse through multipath routing. This paper introduces the validity of the conventional routing scheme in underwater ad hoc networks with directional antennas, and presents a special design of multipath routing algorithm for directional transmission. The experimental results show a significant performance improvement in throughput and latency.

  8. Modeling and optimization of Quality of Service routing in Mobile Ad hoc Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rafsanjani, Marjan Kuchaki; Fatemidokht, Hamideh; Balas, Valentina Emilia

    2016-01-01

    Mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) are a group of mobile nodes that are connected without using a fixed infrastructure. In these networks, nodes communicate with each other by forming a single-hop or multi-hop network. To design effective mobile ad hoc networks, it is important to evaluate the performance of multi-hop paths. In this paper, we present a mathematical model for a routing protocol under energy consumption and packet delivery ratio of multi-hop paths. In this model, we use geometric random graphs rather than random graphs. Our proposed model finds effective paths that minimize the energy consumption and maximizes the packet delivery ratio of the network. Validation of the mathematical model is performed through simulation.

  9. BCDP: Budget Constrained and Delay-Bounded Placement for Hybrid Roadside Units in Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks

    PubMed Central

    Li, Peng; Huang, Chuanhe; Liu, Qin

    2014-01-01

    In vehicular ad hoc networks, roadside units (RSUs) placement has been proposed to improve the the overall network performance in many ITS applications. This paper addresses the budget constrained and delay-bounded placement problem (BCDP) for roadside units in vehicular ad hoc networks. There are two types of RSUs: cable connected RSU (c-RSU) and wireless RSU (w-RSU). c-RSUs are interconnected through wired lines, and they form the backbone of VANETs, while w-RSUs connect to other RSUs through wireless communication and serve as an economical extension of the coverage of c-RSUs. The delay-bounded coverage range and deployment cost of these two cases are totally different. We are given a budget constraint and a delay bound, the problem is how to find the optimal candidate sites with the maximal delay-bounded coverage to place RSUs such that a message from any c-RSU in the region can be disseminated to the more vehicles within the given budget constraint and delay bound. We first prove that the BCDP problem is NP-hard. Then we propose several algorithms to solve the BCDP problem. Simulation results show the heuristic algorithms can significantly improve the coverage range and reduce the total deployment cost, compared with other heuristic methods. PMID:25436656

  10. Ad Hoc modeling, expert problem solving, and R&T program evaluation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Silverman, B. G.; Liebowitz, J.; Moustakis, V. S.

    1983-01-01

    A simplified cost and time (SCAT) analysis program utilizing personal-computer technology is presented and demonstrated in the case of the NASA-Goddard end-to-end data system. The difficulties encountered in implementing complex program-selection and evaluation models in the research and technology field are outlined. The prototype SCAT system described here is designed to allow user-friendly ad hoc modeling in real time and at low cost. A worksheet constructed on the computer screen displays the critical parameters and shows how each is affected when one is altered experimentally. In the NASA case, satellite data-output and control requirements, ground-facility data-handling capabilities, and project priorities are intricately interrelated. Scenario studies of the effects of spacecraft phaseout or new spacecraft on throughput and delay parameters are shown. The use of a network of personal computers for higher-level coordination of decision-making processes is suggested, as a complement or alternative to complex large-scale modeling.

  11. Two Phase Admission Control for QoS Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Chien-Sheng; Su, Yi-Wen; Liu, Wen-Hsiung; Chi, Ching-Lung

    In this paper a novel and effective two phase admission control (TPAC) for QoS mobile ad hoc networks is proposed that satisfies the real-time traffic requirements in mobile ad hoc networks. With a limited amount of extra overhead, TPAC can avoid network congestions by a simple and precise admission control which blocks most of the overloading flow-requests in the route discovery process. When compared with previous QoS routing schemes such as QoS-aware routing protocol and CACP protocols, it is shown from system simulations that the proposed scheme can increase the system throughput and reduce both the dropping rate and the end-to-end delay. Therefore, TPAC is surely an effective QoS-guarantee protocol to provide for real-time traffic.

  12. Cross-Layer Service Discovery Mechanism for OLSRv2 Mobile Ad Hoc Networks.

    PubMed

    Vara, M Isabel; Campo, Celeste

    2015-07-20

    Service discovery plays an important role in mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs). The lack of central infrastructure, limited resources and high mobility make service discovery a challenging issue for this kind of network. This article proposes a new service discovery mechanism for discovering and advertising services integrated into the Optimized Link State Routing Protocol Version 2 (OLSRv2). In previous studies, we demonstrated the validity of a similar service discovery mechanism integrated into the previous version of OLSR (OLSRv1). In order to advertise services, we have added a new type-length-value structure (TLV) to the OLSRv2 protocol, called service discovery message (SDM), according to the Generalized MANET Packet/Message Format defined in Request For Comments (RFC) 5444. Each node in the ad hoc network only advertises its own services. The advertisement frequency is a user-configurable parameter, so that it can be modified depending on the user requirements. Each node maintains two service tables, one to store information about its own services and another one to store information about the services it discovers in the network. We present simulation results, that compare our service discovery integrated into OLSRv2 with the one defined for OLSRv1 and with the integration of service discovery in Ad hoc On-demand Distance Vector (AODV) protocol, in terms of service discovery ratio, service latency and network overhead.

  13. Cross-Layer Service Discovery Mechanism for OLSRv2 Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

    PubMed Central

    Vara, M. Isabel; Campo, Celeste

    2015-01-01

    Service discovery plays an important role in mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs). The lack of central infrastructure, limited resources and high mobility make service discovery a challenging issue for this kind of network. This article proposes a new service discovery mechanism for discovering and advertising services integrated into the Optimized Link State Routing Protocol Version 2 (OLSRv2). In previous studies, we demonstrated the validity of a similar service discovery mechanism integrated into the previous version of OLSR (OLSRv1). In order to advertise services, we have added a new type-length-value structure (TLV) to the OLSRv2 protocol, called service discovery message (SDM), according to the Generalized MANET Packet/Message Format defined in Request For Comments (RFC) 5444. Each node in the ad hoc network only advertises its own services. The advertisement frequency is a user-configurable parameter, so that it can be modified depending on the user requirements. Each node maintains two service tables, one to store information about its own services and another one to store information about the services it discovers in the network. We present simulation results, that compare our service discovery integrated into OLSRv2 with the one defined for OLSRv1 and with the integration of service discovery in Ad hoc On-demand Distance Vector (AODV) protocol, in terms of service discovery ratio, service latency and network overhead. PMID:26205272

  14. Cutting Corners: Provider Perceptions of Interpretation Services and Factors Related to Use of an Ad Hoc Interpreter.

    PubMed

    Mayo, Rachel; Parker, Veronica G; Sherrill, Windsor W; Coltman, Kinneil; Hudson, Matthew F; Nichols, Christina M; Yates, Adam M; Pribonic, Anne Paige

    2016-06-01

    This study assessed health providers' perceptions of factors related to professional interpretation services and the association between these factors and the potential use of ad hoc interpreters. Data were collected from a convenience sample of 150 health services providers at a large, regional health system in South Carolina. Providers rated "ability to communicate effectively during a clinical encounter" as paramount regarding the use of interpretation services. The most important factors related to the likely use of ad hoc interpreters (cutting corners) included locating a qualified interpreter, having to wait for a qualified interpreter, and technical difficulties regarding phone and video technology. Health care organizations may benefit from increasing staff awareness about patient safety and legal and regulatory risks involved with the use of ad hoc interpreters. © The Author(s) 2016.

  15. An Ad-Hoc Adaptive Pilot Model for Pitch Axis Gross Acquisition Tasks

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hanson, Curtis E.

    2012-01-01

    An ad-hoc algorithm is presented for real-time adaptation of the well-known crossover pilot model and applied to pitch axis gross acquisition tasks in a generic fighter aircraft. Off-line tuning of the crossover model to human pilot data gathered in a fixed-based high fidelity simulation is first accomplished for a series of changes in aircraft dynamics to provide expected values for model parameters. It is shown that in most cases, for this application, the traditional crossover model can be reduced to a gain and a time delay. The ad-hoc adaptive pilot gain algorithm is shown to have desirable convergence properties for most types of changes in aircraft dynamics.

  16. Ad-Hoc Queries over Document Collections - A Case Study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Löser, Alexander; Lutter, Steffen; Düssel, Patrick; Markl, Volker

    We discuss the novel problem of supporting analytical business intelligence queries over web-based textual content, e.g., BI-style reports based on 100.000's of documents from an ad-hoc web search result. Neither conventional search engines nor conventional Business Intelligence and ETL tools address this problem, which lies at the intersection of their capabilities. "Google Squared" or our system GOOLAP.info, are examples of these kinds of systems. They execute information extraction methods over one or several document collections at query time and integrate extracted records into a common view or tabular structure. Frequent extraction and object resolution failures cause incomplete records which could not be joined into a record answering the query. Our focus is the identification of join-reordering heuristics maximizing the size of complete records answering a structured query. With respect to given costs for document extraction we propose two novel join-operations: The multi-way CJ-operator joins records from multiple relationships extracted from a single document. The two-way join-operator DJ ensures data density by removing incomplete records from results. In a preliminary case study we observe that our join-reordering heuristics positively impact result size, record density and lower execution costs.

  17. Energy Efficient Probabilistic Broadcasting for Mobile Ad-Hoc Network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kumar, Sumit; Mehfuz, Shabana

    2017-06-01

    In mobile ad-hoc network (MANETs) flooding method is used for broadcasting route request (RREQ) packet from one node to another node for route discovery. This is the simplest method of broadcasting of RREQ packets but it often results in broadcast storm problem, originating collisions and congestion of packets in the network. A probabilistic broadcasting is one of the widely used broadcasting scheme for route discovery in MANETs and provides solution for broadcasting storm problem. But it does not consider limited energy of the battery of the nodes. In this paper, a new energy efficient probabilistic broadcasting (EEPB) is proposed in which probability of broadcasting RREQs is calculated with respect to remaining energy of nodes. The analysis of simulation results clearly indicate that an EEPB route discovery scheme in ad-hoc on demand distance vector (AODV) can increase the network lifetime with a decrease in the average power consumption and RREQ packet overhead. It also decreases the number of dropped packets in the network, in comparison to other EEPB schemes like energy constraint gossip (ECG), energy aware gossip (EAG), energy based gossip (EBG) and network lifetime through energy efficient broadcast gossip (NEBG).

  18. Performance Analysis of Hierarchical Group Key Management Integrated with Adaptive Intrusion Detection in Mobile ad hoc Networks

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-04-05

    applications in wireless networks such as military battlefields, emergency response, mobile commerce , online gaming, and collaborative work are based on the...www.elsevier.com/locate/peva Performance analysis of hierarchical group key management integrated with adaptive intrusion detection in mobile ad hoc...Accepted 19 September 2010 Available online 26 September 2010 Keywords: Mobile ad hoc networks Intrusion detection Group communication systems Group

  19. Information Fusion in Ad hoc Wireless Sensor Networks for Aircraft Health Monitoring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fragoulis, Nikos; Tsagaris, Vassilis; Anastassopoulos, Vassilis

    In this paper the use of an ad hoc wireless sensor network for implementing a structural health monitoring system is discussed. The network is consisted of sensors deployed throughout the aircraft. These sensors being in the form of a microelectronic chip and consisted of sensing, data processing and communicating components could be easily embedded in any mechanical aircraft component. The established sensor network, due to its ad hoc nature is easily scalable, allowing adding or removing any number of sensors. The position of the sensor nodes need not necessarily to be engineered or predetermined, giving this way the ability to be deployed in inaccessible points. Information collected from various sensors of different modalities throughout the aircraft is then fused in order to provide a more comprehensive image of the aircraft structural health. Sensor level fusion along with decision quality information is used, in order to enhance detection performance.

  20. History-based route selection for reactive ad hoc routing protocols

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Medidi, Sirisha; Cappetto, Peter

    2007-04-01

    Ad hoc networks rely on cooperation in order to operate, but in a resource constrained environment not all nodes behave altruistically. Selfish nodes preserve their own resources and do not forward packets not in their own self interest. These nodes degrade the performance of the network, but judicious route selection can help maintain performance despite this behavior. Many route selection algorithms place importance on shortness of the route rather than its reliability. We introduce a light-weight route selection algorithm that uses past behavior to judge the quality of a route rather than solely on the length of the route. It draws information from the underlying routing layer at no extra cost and selects routes with a simple algorithm. This technique maintains this data in a small table, which does not place a high cost on memory. History-based route selection's minimalism suits the needs the portable wireless devices and is easy to implement. We implemented our algorithm and tested it in the ns2 environment. Our simulation results show that history-based route selection achieves higher packet delivery and improved stability than its length-based counterpart.

  1. Work, Family, and Community: Summary Proceedings of an Ad Hoc Committee.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hayes, Cheryl D., Ed.

    These proceedings contain summaries of five working group discussions and a discussion of suggestions for future research from an ad hoc meeting on Work, Family, and Community (Fedruary 21-22, 1980) in Washington, D.C. The meeting had these objectives: (1) to identify salient policy and research issues associated with changing patterns of labor…

  2. Protocols for Detection and Removal of Wormholes for Secure Routing and Neighborhood Creation in Wireless Ad Hoc Networks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hayajneh, Thaier Saleh

    2009-01-01

    Wireless ad hoc networks are suitable and sometimes the only solution for several applications. Many applications, particularly those in military and critical civilian domains (such as battlefield surveillance and emergency rescue) require that ad hoc networks be secure and stable. In fact, security is one of the main barriers to the extensive use…

  3. Design of free patterns of nanocrystals with ad hoc features via templated dewetting

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Aouassa, M.; Berbezier, I.; Favre, L.

    Design of monodisperse ultra-small nanocrystals (NCs) into large scale patterns with ad hoc features is demonstrated. The process makes use of solid state dewetting of a thin film templated through alloy liquid metal ion source focused ion beam (LMIS-FIB) nanopatterning. The solid state dewetting initiated at the edges of the patterns controllably creates the ordering of NCs with ad hoc placement and periodicity. The NC size is tuned by varying the nominal thickness of the film while their position results from the association of film retraction from the edges of the lay out and Rayleigh-like instability. The use of ultra-highmore » resolution LMIS-FIB enables to produce monocrystalline NCs with size, periodicity, and placement tunable as well. It provides routes for the free design of nanostructures for generic applications in nanoelectronics.« less

  4. A fault-tolerant small world topology control model in ad hoc networks for search and rescue

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tan, Mian; Fang, Ling; Wu, Yue; Zhang, Bo; Chang, Bowen; Holme, Petter; Zhao, Jing

    2018-02-01

    Due to their self-organized, multi-hop and distributed characteristics, ad hoc networks are useful in search and rescue. Topology control models need to be designed for energy-efficient, robust and fast communication in ad hoc networks. This paper proposes a topology control model which specializes for search and rescue-Compensation Small World-Repeated Game (CSWRG)-which integrates mobility models, constructing small world networks and a game-theoretic approach to the allocation of resources. Simulation results show that our mobility models can enhance the communication performance of the constructed small-world networks. Our strategy, based on repeated game, can suppress selfish behavior and compensate agents that encounter selfish or faulty neighbors. This model could be useful for the design of ad hoc communication networks.

  5. Multicasting in Wireless Communications (Ad-Hoc Networks): Comparison against a Tree-Based Approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rizos, G. E.; Vasiliadis, D. C.

    2007-12-01

    We examine on-demand multicasting in ad hoc networks. The Core Assisted Mesh Protocol (CAMP) is a well-known protocol for multicast routing in ad-hoc networks, generalizing the notion of core-based trees employed for internet multicasting into multicast meshes that have much richer connectivity than trees. On the other hand, wireless tree-based multicast routing protocols use much simpler structures for determining route paths, using only parent-child relationships. In this work, we compare the performance of the CAMP protocol against the performance of wireless tree-based multicast routing protocols, in terms of two important factors, namely packet delay and ratio of dropped packets.

  6. Taxonomic and ad hoc categorization within the two cerebral hemispheres.

    PubMed

    Shen, Yeshayahu; Aharoni, Bat-El; Mashal, Nira

    2015-01-01

    A typicality effect refers to categorization which is performed more quickly or more accurately for typical than for atypical members of a given category. Previous studies reported a typicality effect for category members presented in the left visual field/right hemisphere (RH), suggesting that the RH applies a similarity-based categorization strategy. However, findings regarding the typicality effect within the left hemisphere (LH) are less conclusive. The current study tested the pattern of typicality effects within each hemisphere for both taxonomic and ad hoc categories, using words presented to the left or right visual fields. Experiment 1 tested typical and atypical members of taxonomic categories as well as non-members, and Experiment 2 tested typical and atypical members of ad hoc categories as well as non-members. The results revealed a typicality effect in both hemispheres and in both types of categories. Furthermore, the RH categorized atypical stimuli more accurately than did the LH. Our findings suggest that both hemispheres rely on a similarity-based categorization strategy, but the coarse semantic coding of the RH seems to facilitate the categorization of atypical members.

  7. Space-Time Processing for Tactical Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2008-08-01

    vision for multiple concurrent communication settings, i.e., a many-to-many framework where multi-packet transmissions (MPTs) and multi-packet...modelling framework of capacity-delay tradeoffs We have introduced the first unified modeling framework for the computation of fundamental limits o We...dalities in wireless n twor i-packet modelling framework to account for the use of m lti-packet reception (MPR) f ad hoc networks with MPT under

  8. Space-Time Processing for Tactical Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2007-08-01

    rates in mobile ad hoc networks. In addition, he has considered the design of a cross-layer multi-user resource allocation framework using a... framework for many-to-one communication. In this context, multiple nodes cooperate to transmit their packets simultaneously to a single node using multi...spatially multiplexed signals transmitted from multiple nodes. Our goal is to form a framework that activates different sets of communication links

  9. Ad hoc instrumentation methods in ecological studies produce highly biased temperature measurements

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Terando, Adam J.; Youngsteadt, Elsa; Meineke, Emily K.; Prado, Sara G.

    2017-01-01

    In light of global climate change, ecological studies increasingly address effects of temperature on organisms and ecosystems. To measure air temperature at biologically relevant scales in the field, ecologists often use small, portable temperature sensors. Sensors must be shielded from solar radiation to provide accurate temperature measurements, but our review of 18 years of ecological literature indicates that shielding practices vary across studies (when reported at all), and that ecologists often invent and construct ad hoc radiation shields without testing their efficacy. We performed two field experiments to examine the accuracy of temperature observations from three commonly used portable data loggers (HOBO Pro, HOBO Pendant, and iButton hygrochron) housed in manufactured Gill shields or ad hoc, custom‐fabricated shields constructed from everyday materials such as plastic cups. We installed this sensor array (five replicates of 11 sensor‐shield combinations) at weather stations located in open and forested sites. HOBO Pro sensors with Gill shields were the most accurate devices, with a mean absolute error of 0.2°C relative to weather stations at each site. Error in ad hoc shield treatments ranged from 0.8 to 3.0°C, with the largest errors at the open site. We then deployed one replicate of each sensor‐shield combination at five sites that varied in the amount of urban impervious surface cover, which presents a further shielding challenge. Bias in sensors paired with ad hoc shields increased by up to 0.7°C for every 10% increase in impervious surface. Our results indicate that, due to variable shielding practices, the ecological literature likely includes highly biased temperature data that cannot be compared directly across studies. If left unaddressed, these errors will hinder efforts to predict biological responses to climate change. We call for greater standardization in how temperature data are recorded in the field, handled in analyses, and

  10. Dynamic autonomous routing technology for IP-based satellite ad hoc networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Xiaofei; Deng, Jing; Kostas, Theresa; Rajappan, Gowri

    2014-06-01

    IP-based routing for military LEO/MEO satellite ad hoc networks is very challenging due to network and traffic heterogeneity, network topology and traffic dynamics. In this paper, we describe a traffic priority-aware routing scheme for such networks, namely Dynamic Autonomous Routing Technology (DART) for satellite ad hoc networks. DART has a cross-layer design, and conducts routing and resource reservation concurrently for optimal performance in the fluid but predictable satellite ad hoc networks. DART ensures end-to-end data delivery with QoS assurances by only choosing routing paths that have sufficient resources, supporting different packet priority levels. In order to do so, DART incorporates several resource management and innovative routing mechanisms, which dynamically adapt to best fit the prevailing conditions. In particular, DART integrates a resource reservation mechanism to reserve network bandwidth resources; a proactive routing mechanism to set up non-overlapping spanning trees to segregate high priority traffic flows from lower priority flows so that the high priority flows do not face contention from low priority flows; a reactive routing mechanism to arbitrate resources between various traffic priorities when needed; a predictive routing mechanism to set up routes for scheduled missions and for anticipated topology changes for QoS assurance. We present simulation results showing the performance of DART. We have conducted these simulations using the Iridium constellation and trajectories as well as realistic military communications scenarios. The simulation results demonstrate DART's ability to discriminate between high-priority and low-priority traffic flows and ensure disparate QoS requirements of these traffic flows.

  11. Energy-Aware Multipath Routing Scheme Based on Particle Swarm Optimization in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

    PubMed Central

    Robinson, Y. Harold; Rajaram, M.

    2015-01-01

    Mobile ad hoc network (MANET) is a collection of autonomous mobile nodes forming an ad hoc network without fixed infrastructure. Dynamic topology property of MANET may degrade the performance of the network. However, multipath selection is a great challenging task to improve the network lifetime. We proposed an energy-aware multipath routing scheme based on particle swarm optimization (EMPSO) that uses continuous time recurrent neural network (CTRNN) to solve optimization problems. CTRNN finds the optimal loop-free paths to solve link disjoint paths in a MANET. The CTRNN is used as an optimum path selection technique that produces a set of optimal paths between source and destination. In CTRNN, particle swarm optimization (PSO) method is primly used for training the RNN. The proposed scheme uses the reliability measures such as transmission cost, energy factor, and the optimal traffic ratio between source and destination to increase routing performance. In this scheme, optimal loop-free paths can be found using PSO to seek better link quality nodes in route discovery phase. PSO optimizes a problem by iteratively trying to get a better solution with regard to a measure of quality. The proposed scheme discovers multiple loop-free paths by using PSO technique. PMID:26819966

  12. Ad Hoc Selection of Voice over Internet Streams

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Macha, Mitchell G. (Inventor); Bullock, John T. (Inventor)

    2014-01-01

    A method and apparatus for a communication system technique involving ad hoc selection of at least two audio streams is provided. Each of the at least two audio streams is a packetized version of an audio source. A data connection exists between a server and a client where a transport protocol actively propagates the at least two audio streams from the server to the client. Furthermore, software instructions executable on the client indicate a presence of the at least two audio streams, allow selection of at least one of the at least two audio streams, and direct the selected at least one of the at least two audio streams for audio playback.

  13. Ad Hoc Selection of Voice over Internet Streams

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Macha, Mitchell G. (Inventor); Bullock, John T. (Inventor)

    2008-01-01

    A method and apparatus for a communication system technique involving ad hoc selection of at least two audio streams is provided. Each of the at least two audio streams is a packetized version of an audio source. A data connection exists between a server and a client where a transport protocol actively propagates the at least two audio streams from the server to the client. Furthermore, software instructions executable on the client indicate a presence of the at least two audio streams, allow selection of at least one of the at least two audio streams, and direct the selected at least one of the at least two audio streams for audio playback.

  14. Ad-Hoc Networks and the Mobile Application Security System (MASS)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2006-01-01

    solution to this problem that addresses critical aspects of security in ad-hoc mobile application networks. This approach involves preventing unauthorized...modification of a mobile application , both by other applications and by hosts, and ensuring that mobile code is authentic and authorized. These...capabilities constitute the Mobile Application Security System (MASS). The MASS applies effective, robust security to mobile application -based systems

  15. Conflict Management in "Ad Hoc" Problem-Solving Groups: A Preliminary Investigation.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wallace, Les; Baxter, Leslie

    Full study of small group communication must include consideration of task and socio-emotional dimensions, especially in relation to group problem solving. Thirty small groups were tested for their reactions in various "ad hoc" conflict resolution situations. Instructions to the groups were (1) no problem-solving instructions (control),…

  16. T2AR: trust-aware ad-hoc routing protocol for MANET.

    PubMed

    Dhananjayan, Gayathri; Subbiah, Janakiraman

    2016-01-01

    Secure data transfer against the malicious attacks is an important issue in an infrastructure-less independent network called mobile ad-hoc network (MANET). Trust assurance between MANET nodes is the key parameter in the high-security provision under dynamic topology variations and open wireless constraints. But, the malicious behavior of nodes reduces the trust level of the nodes that leads to an insecure data delivery. The increase in malicious attacks causes the excessive energy consumption that leads to a reduction of network lifetime. The lack of positional information update of the nodes in ad-hoc on-demand vector (AODV) protocol during the connection establishment offers less trust level between the nodes. Hence, the trust rate computation using energy and mobility models and its update are the essential tasks for secure data delivery. This paper proposes a trust-aware ad-hoc routing (T2AR) protocol to improve the trust level between the nodes in MANET. The proposed method modifies the traditional AODV routing protocol with the constraints of trust rate, energy, mobility based malicious behavior prediction. The packet sequence ID matching from the log reports of neighbor nodes determine the trust rate that avoids the malicious report generation. Besides, the direct and indirect trust observation schemes utilization increases the trust level. Besides, the received signal strength indicator utilization determines the trusted node is within the communication range or not. The comparative analysis between the proposed T2AR with the existing methods such as TRUNCMAN, RBT, GR, FBR and DICOTIDS regarding the average end-to-end delay, throughput, false positives, packet delivery ratio shows the effectiveness of T2AR in the secure MANET environment design.

  17. The impact of brief team communication, leadership and team behavior training on ad hoc team performance in trauma care settings.

    PubMed

    Roberts, Nicole K; Williams, Reed G; Schwind, Cathy J; Sutyak, John A; McDowell, Christopher; Griffen, David; Wall, Jarrod; Sanfey, Hilary; Chestnut, Audra; Meier, Andreas H; Wohltmann, Christopher; Clark, Ted R; Wetter, Nathan

    2014-02-01

    Communication breakdowns and care coordination problems often cause preventable adverse patient care events, which can be especially acute in the trauma setting, in which ad hoc teams have little time for advanced planning. Existing teamwork curricula do not address the particular issues associated with ad hoc emergency teams providing trauma care. Ad hoc trauma teams completed a preinstruction simulated trauma encounter and were provided with instruction on appropriate team behaviors and team communication. Teams completed a postinstruction simulated trauma encounter immediately afterward and 3 weeks later, then completed a questionnaire. Blinded raters rated videotapes of the simulations. Participants expressed high levels of satisfaction and intent to change practice after the intervention. Participants changed teamwork and communication behavior on the posttest, and changes were sustained after a 3-week interval, though there was some loss of retention. Brief training exercises can change teamwork and communication behaviors on ad hoc trauma teams. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Distributive routing and congestion control in wireless multihop ad hoc communication networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Glauche, Ingmar; Krause, Wolfram; Sollacher, Rudolf; Greiner, Martin

    2004-10-01

    Due to their inherent complexity, engineered wireless multihop ad hoc communication networks represent a technological challenge. Having no mastering infrastructure the nodes have to selforganize themselves in such a way that for example network connectivity, good data traffic performance and robustness are guaranteed. In this contribution the focus is on routing and congestion control. First, random data traffic along shortest path routes is studied by simulations as well as theoretical modeling. Measures of congestion like end-to-end time delay and relaxation times are given. A scaling law of the average time delay with respect to network size is revealed and found to depend on the underlying network topology. In the second step, a distributive routing and congestion control is proposed. Each node locally propagates its routing cost estimates and information about its congestion state to its neighbors, which then update their respective cost estimates. This allows for a flexible adaptation of end-to-end routes to the overall congestion state of the network. Compared to shortest-path routing, the critical network load is significantly increased.

  19. Cross-layer model design in wireless ad hoc networks for the Internet of Things.

    PubMed

    Yang, Xin; Wang, Ling; Xie, Jian; Zhang, Zhaolin

    2018-01-01

    Wireless ad hoc networks can experience extreme fluctuations in transmission traffic in the Internet of Things, which is widely used today. Currently, the most crucial issues requiring attention for wireless ad hoc networks are making the best use of low traffic periods, reducing congestion during high traffic periods, and improving transmission performance. To solve these problems, the present paper proposes a novel cross-layer transmission model based on decentralized coded caching in the physical layer and a content division multiplexing scheme in the media access control layer. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed model effectively addresses these issues by substantially increasing the throughput and successful transmission rate compared to existing protocols without a negative influence on delay, particularly for large scale networks under conditions of highly contrasting high and low traffic periods.

  20. Cross-layer model design in wireless ad hoc networks for the Internet of Things

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Ling; Xie, Jian; Zhang, Zhaolin

    2018-01-01

    Wireless ad hoc networks can experience extreme fluctuations in transmission traffic in the Internet of Things, which is widely used today. Currently, the most crucial issues requiring attention for wireless ad hoc networks are making the best use of low traffic periods, reducing congestion during high traffic periods, and improving transmission performance. To solve these problems, the present paper proposes a novel cross-layer transmission model based on decentralized coded caching in the physical layer and a content division multiplexing scheme in the media access control layer. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed model effectively addresses these issues by substantially increasing the throughput and successful transmission rate compared to existing protocols without a negative influence on delay, particularly for large scale networks under conditions of highly contrasting high and low traffic periods. PMID:29734355

  1. Capacity-Delay Trade-Off in Collaborative Hybrid Ad-Hoc Networks with Coverage Sensing.

    PubMed

    Chen, Lingyu; Luo, Wenbin; Liu, Chen; Hong, Xuemin; Shi, Jianghong

    2017-01-26

    The integration of ad hoc device-to-device (D2D) communications and open-access small cells can result in a networking paradigm called hybrid the ad hoc network, which is particularly promising in delivering delay-tolerant data. The capacity-delay performance of hybrid ad hoc networks has been studied extensively under a popular framework called scaling law analysis. These studies, however, do not take into account aspects of interference accumulation and queueing delay and, therefore, may lead to over-optimistic results. Moreover, focusing on the average measures, existing works fail to give finer-grained insights into the distribution of delays. This paper proposes an alternative analytical framework based on queueing theoretic models and physical interference models. We apply this framework to study the capacity-delay performance of a collaborative cellular D2D network with coverage sensing and two-hop relay. The new framework allows us to fully characterize the delay distribution in the transform domain and pinpoint the impacts of coverage sensing, user and base station densities, transmit power, user mobility and packet size on the capacity-delay trade-off. We show that under the condition of queueing equilibrium, the maximum throughput capacity per device saturates to an upper bound of 0.7239 λ b / λ u bits/s/Hz, where λ b and λ u are the densities of base stations and mobile users, respectively.

  2. Capacity-Delay Trade-Off in Collaborative Hybrid Ad-Hoc Networks with Coverage Sensing

    PubMed Central

    Chen, Lingyu; Luo, Wenbin; Liu, Chen; Hong, Xuemin; Shi, Jianghong

    2017-01-01

    The integration of ad hoc device-to-device (D2D) communications and open-access small cells can result in a networking paradigm called hybrid the ad hoc network, which is particularly promising in delivering delay-tolerant data. The capacity-delay performance of hybrid ad hoc networks has been studied extensively under a popular framework called scaling law analysis. These studies, however, do not take into account aspects of interference accumulation and queueing delay and, therefore, may lead to over-optimistic results. Moreover, focusing on the average measures, existing works fail to give finer-grained insights into the distribution of delays. This paper proposes an alternative analytical framework based on queueing theoretic models and physical interference models. We apply this framework to study the capacity-delay performance of a collaborative cellular D2D network with coverage sensing and two-hop relay. The new framework allows us to fully characterize the delay distribution in the transform domain and pinpoint the impacts of coverage sensing, user and base station densities, transmit power, user mobility and packet size on the capacity-delay trade-off. We show that under the condition of queueing equilibrium, the maximum throughput capacity per device saturates to an upper bound of 0.7239 λb/λu bits/s/Hz, where λb and λu are the densities of base stations and mobile users, respectively. PMID:28134769

  3. Specialist availability in emergencies: contributions of response times and the use of ad hoc coverage in New York State.

    PubMed

    Rabin, Elaine; Patrick, Lisa

    2016-04-01

    Nationwide, hospitals struggle to maintain specialist on-call coverage for emergencies. We seek to further understand the issue by examining reliability of scheduled coverage and the role of ad hoc coverage when none is scheduled. An anonymous electronic survey of all emergency department (ED) directors of a large state. Overall and for 10 specialties, respondents were asked to estimate on-call coverage extent and "reliability" (frequency of emergency response in a clinically useful time frame: 2 hours), and use and effect of ad hoc emergency coverage to fill gaps. Descriptive statistics were performed using Fisher exact and Wilcoxon sign rank tests for significance. Contact information was obtained for 125 of 167 ED directors. Sixty responded (48%), representing 36% of EDs. Forty-six percent reported full on-call coverage scheduled for all specialties. Forty-six percent reported consistent reliability. Coverage and reliability were strongly related (P<.01; 33% reported both), and larger ED volume correlated with both (P<.01). Ninety percent of hospitals that had gaps in either employed ad hoc coverage, significantly improving coverage for 8 of 10 specialties. For all but 1 specialty, more than 20% of hospitals reported that specialists are "Never", "Rarely" or "Sometimes" reliable (more than 50% for cardiovascular surgery, hand surgery and ophthalmology). Significant holes in scheduled on-call specialist coverage are compounded by frequent unreliability of on-call specialists, but partially ameliorated by ad hoc specialist coverage. Regionalization may help because a 2-tiered system may exist: larger hospitals have more complete, reliable coverage. Better understanding of specialists' willingness to treat emergencies ad hoc without taking formal call will suggest additional remedies. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. A Survey on Trust Management for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-11-01

    expects, trust is dangerous implying the possible betrayal of trust. In his comments on Lagerspetz’s book titled Trust: The Tacit Demand, Lahno [24...AODV Zouridaki et al. (2005 ) [79] (2006) [80] Secure routing Direct observation [79][80] Reputation by secondhand information [80] Packet dropping...areas of signal processing, wireless communications, sensor and mobile ad hoc networks. He is co-editor of the book Wireless Sensor Networks: Signal

  5. On knowledge transfer management as a learning process for ad hoc teams

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Iliescu, D.

    2017-08-01

    Knowledge management represents an emerging domain becoming more and more important. Concepts like knowledge codification and personalisation, knowledge life-cycle, social and technological dimensions, knowledge transfer and learning management are integral parts. Focus goes here in the process of knowledge transfer for the case of ad hoc teams. The social dimension of knowledge transfer plays an important role. No single individual actors involved in the process, but a collective one, representing the organisation. It is critically important for knowledge to be managed from the life-cycle point of view. A complex communication network needs to be in place to supports the process of knowledge transfer. Two particular concepts, the bridge tie and transactive memory, would eventually enhance the communication. The paper focuses on an informational communication platform supporting the collaborative work on knowledge transfer. The platform facilitates the creation of a topic language to be used in knowledge modelling, storage and reuse, by the ad hoc teams.

  6. An Optimal CDS Construction Algorithm with Activity Scheduling in Ad Hoc Networks

    PubMed Central

    Penumalli, Chakradhar; Palanichamy, Yogesh

    2015-01-01

    A new energy efficient optimal Connected Dominating Set (CDS) algorithm with activity scheduling for mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) is proposed. This algorithm achieves energy efficiency by minimizing the Broadcast Storm Problem [BSP] and at the same time considering the node's remaining energy. The Connected Dominating Set is widely used as a virtual backbone or spine in mobile ad hoc networks [MANETs] or Wireless Sensor Networks [WSN]. The CDS of a graph representing a network has a significant impact on an efficient design of routing protocol in wireless networks. Here the CDS is a distributed algorithm with activity scheduling based on unit disk graph [UDG]. The node's mobility and residual energy (RE) are considered as parameters in the construction of stable optimal energy efficient CDS. The performance is evaluated at various node densities, various transmission ranges, and mobility rates. The theoretical analysis and simulation results of this algorithm are also presented which yield better results. PMID:26221627

  7. A Feasible Approach for an Early Manned Lunar Landing. Part II: Detailed Report of Ad Hoc Task Group

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fleming, William A.

    1961-01-01

    This report, in two parts, presents a program development plan for attempting a first manned lunar landing in 1967. The two parts consist of a Summary Report and a Detailed Report representing the coordinated output of the Ad Hoc Task Group assigned to the study. The study was started in response to the request for such a study by the Associate Administrator in his memorandum of May 2, 1961 establishing the Ad Hoc Task Group. The purpose of the study was to take a first cut at the tasks associated with the design, development and construction of the equipment and facilities as well as the development of the crews, and to show the time phasing 6f these tasks. Included are the space sciences, life science and advanced technology tasks whose data and results are needed for designing and developing the systems required in carrying out the mission. The plan presented in the two reports does not presume to be a firm plan. Its basic purpose is, by choosing one feasible method, to size up the scope, schedule and cost of the job, discover the main problems, pacing items and major decisions and provide a threshold from which a firm and detailed project development plan can be jointly formulated by the various elements of NASA.

  8. A Survey on Trust Management for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-07-01

    betrayal of trust. In his comments on Lagerspetz’s book titled Trust: The Tacit Demand, Lahno [24] describes the author’s view on trust as a moral...extension of AODV Zouridaki et al. (2005 ) [79] (2006) [80] Secure routing Direct observation [79][80] Reputation by secondhand information [80...the broad areas of signal processing, wireless communications, sensor and mobile ad hoc networks. He is co-editor of the book Wireless Sensor Networks

  9. Power-Aware Intrusion Detection in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Şen, Sevil; Clark, John A.; Tapiador, Juan E.

    Mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) are a highly promising new form of networking. However they are more vulnerable to attacks than wired networks. In addition, conventional intrusion detection systems (IDS) are ineffective and inefficient for highly dynamic and resource-constrained environments. Achieving an effective operational MANET requires tradeoffs to be made between functional and non-functional criteria. In this paper we show how Genetic Programming (GP) together with a Multi-Objective Evolutionary Algorithm (MOEA) can be used to synthesise intrusion detection programs that make optimal tradeoffs between security criteria and the power they consume.

  10. The Use of English as Ad Hoc Institutional Standard in the Belgian Asylum Interview

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Maryns, Katrijn

    2017-01-01

    In institutional settings of globalization, labelled languages are generally preferred over multilingual repertoires and mobile language resources. Drawing on linguistic-ethnographic analysis of the way English is treated as an invariable "ad hoc" idiom in the Belgian asylum interview, this article demonstrates how institutional measures…

  11. Cross-layer protocols optimized for real-time multimedia services in energy-constrained mobile ad hoc networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hortos, William S.

    2003-07-01

    Mobile ad hoc networking (MANET) supports self-organizing, mobile infrastructures and enables an autonomous network of mobile nodes that can operate without a wired backbone. Ad hoc networks are characterized by multihop, wireless connectivity via packet radios and by the need for efficient dynamic protocols. All routers are mobile and can establish connectivity with other nodes only when they are within transmission range. Importantly, ad hoc wireless nodes are resource-constrained, having limited processing, memory, and battery capacity. Delivery of high quality-ofservice (QoS), real-time multimedia services from Internet-based applications over a MANET is a challenge not yet achieved by proposed Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) ad hoc network protocols in terms of standard performance metrics such as end-to-end throughput, packet error rate, and delay. In the distributed operations of route discovery and maintenance, strong interaction occurs across MANET protocol layers, in particular, the physical, media access control (MAC), network, and application layers. The QoS requirements are specified for the service classes by the application layer. The cross-layer design must also satisfy the battery-limited energy constraints, by minimizing the distributed power consumption at the nodes and of selected routes. Interactions across the layers are modeled in terms of the set of concatenated design parameters including associated energy costs. Functional dependencies of the QoS metrics are described in terms of the concatenated control parameters. New cross-layer designs are sought that optimize layer interdependencies to achieve the "best" QoS available in an energy-constrained, time-varying network. The protocol design, based on a reactive MANET protocol, adapts the provisioned QoS to dynamic network conditions and residual energy capacities. The cross-layer optimization is based on stochastic dynamic programming conditions derived from time-dependent models of

  12. Ad hoc categories and false memories: Memory illusions for categories created on-the-spot.

    PubMed

    Soro, Jerônimo C; Ferreira, Mário B; Semin, Gün R; Mata, André; Carneiro, Paula

    2017-11-01

    Three experiments were designed to test whether experimentally created ad hoc associative networks evoke false memories. We used the DRM (Deese, Roediger, McDermott) paradigm with lists of ad hoc categories composed of exemplars aggregated toward specific goals (e.g., going for a picnic) that do not share any consistent set of features. Experiment 1 revealed considerable levels of false recognitions of critical words from ad hoc categories. False recognitions occurred even when the lists were presented without an organizing theme (i.e., the category's label). Experiments 1 and 2 tested whether (a) the ease of identifying the categories' themes, and (b) the lists' backward associative strength could be driving the effect. List identifiability did not correlate with false recognition, and the effect remained even when backward associative strength was controlled for. Experiment 3 manipulated the distractor items in the recognition task to address the hypothesis that the salience of unrelated items could be facilitating the occurrence of the phenomenon. The effect remained when controlling for this source of facilitation. These results have implications for assumptions made by theories of false memories, namely the preexistence of associations in the activation-monitoring framework and the central role of gist extraction in fuzzy-trace theory, while providing evidence of the occurrence of false memories for more dynamic and context-dependent knowledge structures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  13. Stochastic does not equal ad hoc. [theories of lunar origin

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hartmann, W. K.

    1984-01-01

    Some classes of influential events in solar system history are class-predictable but not event-predictable. Theories of lunar origin should not ignore class-predictable stochastic events. Impacts and close encounters with large objects during planet formation are class-predictable. These stochastic events, such as large impacts that triggered ejection of Earth-mantle material into a circum-Earth cloud, should not be rejected as ad hoc. A way to deal with such events scientifically is to investigate their consequences; if it can be shown that they might produce the Moon, they become viable concepts in theories of lunar origin.

  14. Integrated Social and Quality of Service Trust Management of Mobile Groups in Ad Hoc Networks

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2013-01-01

    high resiliency to malicious attacks and misbehaving nodes. Keywords—trust management; mobile ad hoc networks; QoS trust; social trust; trust...paper we address an importance issue of trust management protocol design for MANETs: trust bias minimization despite misbehaving nodes performing

  15. The 5th Meeting of the Ad Hoc Panel on Terminal Configured Vehicles

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1977-01-01

    A report of the fifth meeting of the NASA Research and Technology Advisory Council, Ad Hoc panel on Terminal Configured Vehicles is presented. Some of the following topics were discussed; (1) microwave landing systems; (2) whole word computer system status; (3) flight path angle control: (4) VTOL approaches and landing technology; and (5) simulation study in wind shear.

  16. Worm epidemics in wireless ad hoc networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nekovee, Maziar

    2007-06-01

    A dramatic increase in the number of computing devices with wireless communication capability has resulted in the emergence of a new class of computer worms which specifically target such devices. The most striking feature of these worms is that they do not require Internet connectivity for their propagation but can spread directly from device to device using a short-range radio communication technology, such as WiFi or Bluetooth. In this paper, we develop a new model for epidemic spreading of these worms and investigate their spreading in wireless ad hoc networks via extensive Monte Carlo simulations. Our studies show that the threshold behaviour and dynamics of worm epidemics in these networks are greatly affected by a combination of spatial and temporal correlations which characterize these networks, and are significantly different from the previously studied epidemics in the Internet.

  17. Dynamic fair node spectrum allocation for ad hoc networks using random matrices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rahmes, Mark; Lemieux, George; Chester, Dave; Sonnenberg, Jerry

    2015-05-01

    Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA) is widely seen as a solution to the problem of limited spectrum, because of its ability to adapt the operating frequency of a radio. Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs) can extend high-capacity mobile communications over large areas where fixed and tethered-mobile systems are not available. In one use case with high potential impact, cognitive radio employs spectrum sensing to facilitate the identification of allocated frequencies not currently accessed by their primary users. Primary users own the rights to radiate at a specific frequency and geographic location, while secondary users opportunistically attempt to radiate at a specific frequency when the primary user is not using it. We populate a spatial radio environment map (REM) database with known information that can be leveraged in an ad hoc network to facilitate fair path use of the DSA-discovered links. Utilization of high-resolution geospatial data layers in RF propagation analysis is directly applicable. Random matrix theory (RMT) is useful in simulating network layer usage in nodes by a Wishart adjacency matrix. We use the Dijkstra algorithm for discovering ad hoc network node connection patterns. We present a method for analysts to dynamically allocate node-node path and link resources using fair division. User allocation of limited resources as a function of time must be dynamic and based on system fairness policies. The context of fair means that first available request for an asset is not envied as long as it is not yet allocated or tasked in order to prevent cycling of the system. This solution may also save money by offering a Pareto efficient repeatable process. We use a water fill queue algorithm to include Shapley value marginal contributions for allocation.

  18. A game-theoretic approach to optimize ad hoc networks inspired by small-world network topology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tan, Mian; Yang, Tinghong; Chen, Xing; Yang, Gang; Zhu, Guoqing; Holme, Petter; Zhao, Jing

    2018-03-01

    Nodes in ad hoc networks are connected in a self-organized manner. Limited communication radius makes information transmit in multi-hop mode, and each forwarding needs to consume the energy of nodes. Insufficient communication radius or exhaustion of energy may cause the absence of some relay nodes and links, further breaking network connectivity. On the other hand, nodes in the network may refuse to cooperate due to objective faulty or personal selfish, hindering regular communication in the network. This paper proposes a model called Repeated Game in Small World Networks (RGSWN). In this model, we first construct ad hoc networks with small-world feature by forming "communication shortcuts" between multiple-radio nodes. Small characteristic path length reduces average forwarding times in networks; meanwhile high clustering coefficient enhances network robustness. Such networks still maintain relative low global power consumption, which is beneficial to extend the network survival time. Then we use MTTFT strategy (Mend-Tolerance Tit-for-Tat) for repeated game as a rule for the interactions between neighbors in the small-world networks. Compared with other five strategies of repeated game, this strategy not only punishes the nodes' selfishness more reasonably, but also has the best tolerance to the network failure. This work is insightful for designing an efficient and robust ad hoc network.

  19. Analytical Models of Cross-Layer Protocol Optimization in Real-Time Wireless Sensor Ad Hoc Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hortos, William S.

    The real-time interactions among the nodes of a wireless sensor network (WSN) to cooperatively process data from multiple sensors are modeled. Quality-of-service (QoS) metrics are associated with the quality of fused information: throughput, delay, packet error rate, etc. Multivariate point process (MVPP) models of discrete random events in WSNs establish stochastic characteristics of optimal cross-layer protocols. Discrete-event, cross-layer interactions in mobile ad hoc network (MANET) protocols have been modeled using a set of concatenated design parameters and associated resource levels by the MVPPs. Characterization of the "best" cross-layer designs for a MANET is formulated by applying the general theory of martingale representations to controlled MVPPs. Performance is described in terms of concatenated protocol parameters and controlled through conditional rates of the MVPPs. Modeling limitations to determination of closed-form solutions versus explicit iterative solutions for ad hoc WSN controls are examined.

  20. HOW GAS-DYNAMIC FLARE MODELS POWERED BY PETSCHEK RECONNECTION DIFFER FROM THOSE WITH AD HOC ENERGY SOURCES

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Longcope, D. W.; Klimchuk, J. A.

    Aspects of solar flare dynamics, such as chromospheric evaporation and flare light curves, have long been studied using one-dimensional models of plasma dynamics inside a static flare loop, subjected to some energy input. While extremely successful at explaining the observed characteristics of flares, all such models so far have specified energy input ad hoc, rather than deriving it self-consistently. There is broad consensus that flares are powered by magnetic energy released through reconnection. Recent work has generalized Petschek’s basic reconnection scenario, topological change followed by field line retraction and shock heating, to permit its inclusion in a one-dimensional flare loop model. Heremore » we compare the gas dynamics driven by retraction and shocking to those from more conventional static loop models energized by ad hoc source terms. We find significant differences during the first minute, when retraction leads to larger kinetic energies and produces higher densities at the loop top, while ad hoc heating tends to rarify the loop top. The loop-top density concentration is related to the slow magnetosonic shock, characteristic of Petschek’s model, but persists beyond the retraction phase occurring in the outflow jet. This offers an explanation for observed loop-top sources of X-ray and EUV emission, with advantages over that provided by ad hoc heating scenarios. The cooling phases of the two models are, however, notably similar to one another, suggesting that observations at that stage will yield little information on the nature of energy input.« less

  1. Report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Religious and Cultural Celebrations in the Library.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rathemacher, Andree; Grubman, Sheila Black; Lahiri, Amar; Gilton, Donna; Sharif, Mohammed

    The charge of the University of Rhode Island's Ad Hoc Committee on Religious and Cultural Celebrations in the Library was to: investigate all opportunities for the library to educate the campus community about religious and cultural holidays; consider all the major religions of the world and the possibility of having displays for the symbols of…

  2. Smart border: ad-hoc wireless sensor networks for border surveillance

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    He, Jun; Fallahi, Mahmoud; Norwood, Robert A.; Peyghambarian, Nasser

    2011-06-01

    Wireless sensor networks have been proposed as promising candidates to provide automated monitoring, target tracking, and intrusion detection for border surveillance. In this paper, we demonstrate an ad-hoc wireless sensor network system for border surveillance. The network consists of heterogeneously autonomous sensor nodes that distributively cooperate with each other to enable a smart border in remote areas. This paper also presents energy-aware and sleeping algorithms designed to maximize the operating lifetime of the deployed sensor network. Lessons learned in building the network and important findings from field experiments are shared in the paper.

  3. Spontaneous ad hoc mobile cloud computing network.

    PubMed

    Lacuesta, Raquel; Lloret, Jaime; Sendra, Sandra; Peñalver, Lourdes

    2014-01-01

    Cloud computing helps users and companies to share computing resources instead of having local servers or personal devices to handle the applications. Smart devices are becoming one of the main information processing devices. Their computing features are reaching levels that let them create a mobile cloud computing network. But sometimes they are not able to create it and collaborate actively in the cloud because it is difficult for them to build easily a spontaneous network and configure its parameters. For this reason, in this paper, we are going to present the design and deployment of a spontaneous ad hoc mobile cloud computing network. In order to perform it, we have developed a trusted algorithm that is able to manage the activity of the nodes when they join and leave the network. The paper shows the network procedures and classes that have been designed. Our simulation results using Castalia show that our proposal presents a good efficiency and network performance even by using high number of nodes.

  4. On service differentiation in mobile Ad Hoc networks.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Shun-liang; Ye, Cheng-qing

    2004-09-01

    A network model is proposed to support service differentiation for mobile Ad Hoc networks by combining a fully distributed admission control approach and the DIFS based differentiation mechanism of IEEE802.11. It can provide different kinds of QoS (Quality of Service) for various applications. Admission controllers determine a committed bandwidth based on the reserved bandwidth of flows and the source utilization of networks. Packets are marked when entering into networks by markers according to the committed rate. By the mark in the packet header, intermediate nodes handle the received packets in different manners to provide applications with the QoS corresponding to the pre-negotiated profile. Extensive simulation experiments showed that the proposed mechanism can provide QoS guarantee to assured service traffic and increase the channel utilization of networks.

  5. Defense Acquisition and the Case of the Joint Capabilities Technology Demonstration Office: Ad Hoc Problem Solving as a Mechanism for Adaptive Change

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2013-04-01

    Capabilities Technology Demonstration Office: Ad Hoc Problem Solving as a Mechanism for Adaptive Change Kathryn Aten and John T. Dillard Naval...Defense Acquisition and the Case of the Joint Capabilities Technology Demonstration Office: Ad Hoc Problem Solving as a Mechanism for Adaptive Change...describes the preliminary analysis and findings of our study exploring what drives successful organizational adaptation in the context of technology

  6. Assessing Clinical Microbiology Practice Guidelines: American Society for Microbiology Ad Hoc Committee on Evidence-Based Laboratory Medicine Practice Guidelines Assessment.

    PubMed

    Nachamkin, Irving; Kirn, Thomas J; Westblade, Lars F; Humphries, Romney

    2017-11-01

    As part of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Evidence-Based Laboratory Medicine Practice Guidelines Committee of the Professional Practice Committee, an ad hoc committee was formed in 2014 to assess guidelines published by the committee using an assessment tool, Appraisal of Guidelines for Research Evaluation II (AGREE II). The AGREE II assessment helps reviewers determine whether published guidelines are robust, transparent, and clear in presenting practice recommendations in a standardized manner. Identifying strengths and weaknesses of practice guidelines by ad hoc assessments helps with improving future guidelines through the participation of key stakeholders. This minireview describes the development of the ad hoc committee and results from their review of several ASM best practices guidelines and a non-ASM practice guideline from the Emergency Nurses Association. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Microbiology.

  7. Assessing Clinical Microbiology Practice Guidelines: American Society for Microbiology Ad Hoc Committee on Evidence-Based Laboratory Medicine Practice Guidelines Assessment

    PubMed Central

    Kirn, Thomas J.; Westblade, Lars F.; Humphries, Romney

    2017-01-01

    ABSTRACT As part of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Evidence-Based Laboratory Medicine Practice Guidelines Committee of the Professional Practice Committee, an ad hoc committee was formed in 2014 to assess guidelines published by the committee using an assessment tool, Appraisal of Guidelines for Research Evaluation II (AGREE II). The AGREE II assessment helps reviewers determine whether published guidelines are robust, transparent, and clear in presenting practice recommendations in a standardized manner. Identifying strengths and weaknesses of practice guidelines by ad hoc assessments helps with improving future guidelines through the participation of key stakeholders. This minireview describes the development of the ad hoc committee and results from their review of several ASM best practices guidelines and a non-ASM practice guideline from the Emergency Nurses Association. PMID:28835476

  8. An artificial immune system approach with secondary response for misbehavior detection in mobile ad hoc networks.

    PubMed

    Sarafijanović, Slavisa; Le Boudec, Jean-Yves

    2005-09-01

    In mobile ad hoc networks, nodes act both as terminals and information relays, and they participate in a common routing protocol, such as dynamic source routing (DSR). The network is vulnerable to routing misbehavior, due to faulty or malicious nodes. Misbehavior detection systems aim at removing this vulnerability. In this paper, we investigate the use of an artificial immune system (AIS) to detect node misbehavior in a mobile ad hoc network using DSR. The system is inspired by the natural immune system (IS) of vertebrates. Our goal is to build a system that, like its natural counterpart, automatically learns, and detects new misbehavior. We describe our solution for the classification task of the AIS; it employs negative selection and clonal selection, the algorithms for learning and adaptation used by the natural IS. We define how we map the natural IS concepts such as self, antigen, and antibody to a mobile ad hoc network and give the resulting algorithm for classifying nodes as misbehaving. We implemented the system in the network simulator Glomosim; we present detection results and discuss how the system parameters affect the performance of primary and secondary response. Further steps will extend the design by using an analogy to the innate system, danger signal, and memory cells.

  9. Defense Acquisition and the Case of the Joint Capabilities Technology Demonstration Office: Ad Hoc Problem Solving as a Mechanism for Adaptive Change

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2013-10-01

    pmlkploba=obmloq=pbofbp= Defense Acquisition and the Case of the Joint Capabilities Technology Demonstration Office: Ad Hoc Problem Solving as a...of the Joint Capabilities Technology Demonstration Office: Ad Hoc Problem Solving as a Mechanism for Adaptive Change 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT...findings of our study exploring what drives successful organizational adaptation in the context of technology transition and acquisition within the

  10. Panel Discussion : Report of the APS Ad-Hoc Committee on LGBT Issues

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Atherton, Tim; Barthelemy, Ramon; Garmon, Savannah; Reeves, Kyle; APS Ad-Hoc Committee on LGBT Issues Team

    Following the presentation of the findings and recommendations of the APS Ad-Hoc Committee on LGBT Issues (C-LGBT) by Committee Chair Michael Falk, a panel discussion will be held featuring several members of the committee. The discussion will focus on how APS can best ensure the recommendations of the committee are carried out in a timely fashion and other ideas on future APS efforts toward LGBT inclusion in physics. Discussion topics will also include the research and other input that shaped the committee's findings and recommendations.

  11. Ad hoc supervision of general practice registrars as a 'community of practice': analysis, interpretation and re-presentation.

    PubMed

    Clement, T; Brown, J; Morrison, J; Nestel, D

    2016-05-01

    General practice registrars in Australia undertake most of their vocational training in accredited general practices. They typically see patients alone from the start of their community-based training and are expected to seek timely ad hoc support from their supervisor. Such ad hoc encounters are a mechanism for ensuring patient safety, but also provide an opportunity for learning and teaching. Wenger's (Communities of practice: learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge University Press, New York, 1998) social theory of learning ('communities of practice') guided a secondary analysis of audio-recordings of ad hoc encounters. Data from one encounter is re-presented as an extended sequence to maintain congruence with the theoretical perspective and enhance vicariousness. An interpretive commentary communicates key features of Wenger's theory and highlights the researchers' interpretations. We argue that one encounter can reveal universal understandings of clinical supervision and that the process of naturalistic generalisation allows readers to transfer others' experiences to their own contexts. The paper raises significant analytic, interpretive, and representational issues. We highlight that report writing is an important, but infrequently discussed, part of research design. We discuss the challenges of supporting the learning and teaching that arises from adopting a socio-cultural lens and argue that such a perspective importantly captures the complex range of issues that work-based practitioners have to grapple with. This offers a challenge to how we research and seek to influence work-based learning and teaching in health care settings.

  12. Adaptive Reliable Routing Protocol Using Combined Link Stability Estimation for Mobile Ad hoc Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vadivel, R.; Bhaskaran, V. Murali

    2010-10-01

    The main reason for packet loss in ad hoc networks is the link failure or node failure. In order to increase the path stability, it is essential to distinguish and moderate the failures. By knowing individual link stability along a path, path stability can be identified. In this paper, we develop an adaptive reliable routing protocol using combined link stability estimation for mobile ad hoc networks. The main objective of this protocol is to determine a Quality of Service (QoS) path along with prolonging the network life time and to reduce the packet loss. We calculate a combined metric for a path based on the parameters Link Expiration Time, Node Remaining Energy and Node Velocity and received signal strength to predict the link stability or lifetime. Then, a bypass route is established to retransmit the lost data, when a link failure occurs. By simulation results, we show that the proposed reliable routing protocol achieves high delivery ratio with reduced delay and packet drop.

  13. A multihop key agreement scheme for wireless ad hoc networks based on channel characteristics.

    PubMed

    Hao, Zhuo; Zhong, Sheng; Yu, Nenghai

    2013-01-01

    A number of key agreement schemes based on wireless channel characteristics have been proposed recently. However, previous key agreement schemes require that two nodes which need to agree on a key are within the communication range of each other. Hence, they are not suitable for multihop wireless networks, in which nodes do not always have direct connections with each other. In this paper, we first propose a basic multihop key agreement scheme for wireless ad hoc networks. The proposed basic scheme is resistant to external eavesdroppers. Nevertheless, this basic scheme is not secure when there exist internal eavesdroppers or Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) adversaries. In order to cope with these adversaries, we propose an improved multihop key agreement scheme. We show that the improved scheme is secure against internal eavesdroppers and MITM adversaries in a single path. Both performance analysis and simulation results demonstrate that the improved scheme is efficient. Consequently, the improved key agreement scheme is suitable for multihop wireless ad hoc networks.

  14. A Multihop Key Agreement Scheme for Wireless Ad Hoc Networks Based on Channel Characteristics

    PubMed Central

    Yu, Nenghai

    2013-01-01

    A number of key agreement schemes based on wireless channel characteristics have been proposed recently. However, previous key agreement schemes require that two nodes which need to agree on a key are within the communication range of each other. Hence, they are not suitable for multihop wireless networks, in which nodes do not always have direct connections with each other. In this paper, we first propose a basic multihop key agreement scheme for wireless ad hoc networks. The proposed basic scheme is resistant to external eavesdroppers. Nevertheless, this basic scheme is not secure when there exist internal eavesdroppers or Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) adversaries. In order to cope with these adversaries, we propose an improved multihop key agreement scheme. We show that the improved scheme is secure against internal eavesdroppers and MITM adversaries in a single path. Both performance analysis and simulation results demonstrate that the improved scheme is efficient. Consequently, the improved key agreement scheme is suitable for multihop wireless ad hoc networks. PMID:23766725

  15. A novel unbalanced multiple description coder for robust video transmission over ad hoc wireless networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huang, Feng; Sun, Lifeng; Zhong, Yuzhuo

    2006-01-01

    Robust transmission of live video over ad hoc wireless networks presents new challenges: high bandwidth requirements are coupled with delay constraints; even a single packet loss causes error propagation until a complete video frame is coded in the intra-mode; ad hoc wireless networks suffer from bursty packet losses that drastically degrade the viewing experience. Accordingly, we propose a novel UMD coder capable of quickly recovering from losses and ensuring continuous playout. It uses 'peg' frames to prevent error propagation in the High-Resolution (HR) description and improve the robustness of key frames. The Low-Resolution (LR) coder works independent of the HR one, but they can also help each other recover from losses. Like many UMD coders, our UMD coder is drift-free, disruption-tolerant and able to make good use of the asymmetric available bandwidths of multiple paths. The simulation results under different conditions show that the proposed UMD coder has the highest decoded quality and lowest probability of pause when compared with concurrent UMDC techniques. The coder also has a comparable decoded quality, lower startup delay and lower probability of pause than a state-of-the-art FEC-based scheme. To provide robustness for video multicast applications, we propose non-end-to-end UMDC-based video distribution over a multi-tree multicast network. The multiplicity of parents decorrelates losses and the non-end-to-end feature increases the throughput of UMDC video data. We deploy an application-level service of LR description reconstruction in some intermediate nodes of the LR multicast tree. The principle behind this is to reconstruct the disrupted LR frames by the correctly received HR frames. As a result, the viewing experience at the downstream nodes benefits from the protection reconstruction at the upstream nodes.

  16. Mapping Ad Hoc Communications Network of a Large Number Fixed-Wing UAV Swarm

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2017-03-01

    partitioned sub-swarms. The work covered in this thesis is to build a model of the NPS swarm’s communication network in ns-3 simulation software and use...partitioned sub- swarms. The work covered in this thesis is to build a model of the NPS swarm’s communication network in ns-3 simulation software and...NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA THESIS MAPPING AD HOC COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK OF A LARGE NUMBER FIXED-WING UAV SWARM by Alexis

  17. Topology for efficient information dissemination in ad-hoc networking

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Jennings, E.; Okino, C. M.

    2002-01-01

    In this paper, we explore the information dissemination problem in ad-hoc wirless networks. First, we analyze the probability of successful broadcast, assuming: the nodes are uniformly distributed, the available area has a lower bould relative to the total number of nodes, and there is zero knowledge of the overall topology of the network. By showing that the probability of such events is small, we are motivated to extract good graph topologies to minimize the overall transmissions. Three algorithms are used to generate topologies of the network with guaranteed connectivity. These are the minimum radius graph, the relative neighborhood graph and the minimum spanning tree. Our simulation shows that the relative neighborhood graph has certain good graph properties, which makes it suitable for efficient information dissemination.

  18. Spontaneous Ad Hoc Mobile Cloud Computing Network

    PubMed Central

    Lacuesta, Raquel; Sendra, Sandra; Peñalver, Lourdes

    2014-01-01

    Cloud computing helps users and companies to share computing resources instead of having local servers or personal devices to handle the applications. Smart devices are becoming one of the main information processing devices. Their computing features are reaching levels that let them create a mobile cloud computing network. But sometimes they are not able to create it and collaborate actively in the cloud because it is difficult for them to build easily a spontaneous network and configure its parameters. For this reason, in this paper, we are going to present the design and deployment of a spontaneous ad hoc mobile cloud computing network. In order to perform it, we have developed a trusted algorithm that is able to manage the activity of the nodes when they join and leave the network. The paper shows the network procedures and classes that have been designed. Our simulation results using Castalia show that our proposal presents a good efficiency and network performance even by using high number of nodes. PMID:25202715

  19. An extended smart utilization medium access control (ESU-MAC) protocol for ad hoc wireless systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vashishtha, Jyoti; Sinha, Aakash

    2006-05-01

    The demand for spontaneous setup of a wireless communication system has increased in recent years for areas like battlefield, disaster relief operations etc., where a pre-deployment of network infrastructure is difficult or unavailable. A mobile ad-hoc network (MANET) is a promising solution, but poses a lot of challenges for all the design layers, specifically medium access control (MAC) layer. Recent existing works have used the concepts of multi-channel and power control in designing MAC layer protocols. SU-MAC developed by the same authors, efficiently uses the 'available' data and control bandwidth to send control information and results in increased throughput via decreasing contention on the control channel. However, SU-MAC protocol was limited for static ad-hoc network and also faced the busy-receiver node problem. We present the Extended SU-MAC (ESU-MAC) protocol which works mobile nodes. Also, we significantly improve the scheme of control information exchange in ESU-MAC to overcome the busy-receiver node problem and thus, further avoid the blockage of control channel for longer periods of time. A power control scheme is used as before to reduce interference and to effectively re-use the available bandwidth. Simulation results show that ESU-MAC protocol is promising for mobile, ad-hoc network in terms of reduced contention at the control channel and improved throughput because of channel re-use. Results show a considerable increase in throughput compared to SU-MAC which could be attributed to increased accessibility of control channel and improved utilization of data channels due to superior control information exchange scheme.

  20. A secure 3-way routing protocols for intermittently connected mobile ad hoc networks.

    PubMed

    Sekaran, Ramesh; Parasuraman, Ganesh Kumar

    2014-01-01

    The mobile ad hoc network may be partially connected or it may be disconnected in nature and these forms of networks are termed intermittently connected mobile ad hoc network (ICMANET). The routing in such disconnected network is commonly an arduous task. Many routing protocols have been proposed for routing in ICMANET since decades. The routing techniques in existence for ICMANET are, namely, flooding, epidemic, probabilistic, copy case, spray and wait, and so forth. These techniques achieve an effective routing with minimum latency, higher delivery ratio, lesser overhead, and so forth. Though these techniques generate effective results, in this paper, we propose novel routing algorithms grounded on agent and cryptographic techniques, namely, location dissemination service (LoDiS) routing with agent AES, A-LoDiS with agent AES routing, and B-LoDiS with agent AES routing, ensuring optimal results with respect to various network routing parameters. The algorithm along with efficient routing ensures higher degree of security. The security level is cited testing with respect to possibility of malicious nodes into the network. This paper also aids, with the comparative results of proposed algorithms, for secure routing in ICMANET.

  1. A Secure 3-Way Routing Protocols for Intermittently Connected Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

    PubMed Central

    Parasuraman, Ganesh Kumar

    2014-01-01

    The mobile ad hoc network may be partially connected or it may be disconnected in nature and these forms of networks are termed intermittently connected mobile ad hoc network (ICMANET). The routing in such disconnected network is commonly an arduous task. Many routing protocols have been proposed for routing in ICMANET since decades. The routing techniques in existence for ICMANET are, namely, flooding, epidemic, probabilistic, copy case, spray and wait, and so forth. These techniques achieve an effective routing with minimum latency, higher delivery ratio, lesser overhead, and so forth. Though these techniques generate effective results, in this paper, we propose novel routing algorithms grounded on agent and cryptographic techniques, namely, location dissemination service (LoDiS) routing with agent AES, A-LoDiS with agent AES routing, and B-LoDiS with agent AES routing, ensuring optimal results with respect to various network routing parameters. The algorithm along with efficient routing ensures higher degree of security. The security level is cited testing with respect to possibility of malicious nodes into the network. This paper also aids, with the comparative results of proposed algorithms, for secure routing in ICMANET. PMID:25136697

  2. An Energy Efficient Power Control Protocol for Ad Hoc Networks Using Directional Antennas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Quiroz-Perez, Carlos; Gulliver, T. Aaron

    A wireless ad hoc network is a collection of mobile nodes that can communicate with each other. Typically, nodes employ omnidirectional antennas. The use of directional antennas can increase spatial reuse, reduce the number of hops to a destination, reduce interference, and increase the transmission range in a specific direction. This is because omnidirectional antennas radiate equally in all directions, limiting the transmission range.

  3. Adaptive Flow Control for Enabling Quality of Service in Tactical Ad Hoc Wireless Networks

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-12-01

    environment in wireless networks , we use sensors in the network routers to detect and respond to congestion. We use backpressure techniques... wireless mesh network . In the current approach, we used OLSR as the routing scheme. However, B.A.T.M.A.N. offers the significant advantage of being based...Control and QoS Routing in Multi-Channel Wireless Mesh Networks ,” 68-77. ACM International Symposium on Mobile Ad Hoc Networking &

  4. Data management issues in mobile ad hoc networks

    PubMed Central

    HARA, Takahiro

    2017-01-01

    Research on mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) has become a hot research topic since the middle 1990’s. Over the first decade, most research focused on networking techniques, ignoring data management issues. We, however, realized early the importance of data management in MANETs, and have been conducting studies in this area for 15 years. In this review, we summarize some key technical issues related to data management in MANETs, and the studies we have done in addressing these issues, which include placement of data replicas, update management, and query processing with security management. The techniques proposed in our studies have been designed with deep considerations of MANET features including network partitioning, node participation/disappearance, limited network bandwidth, and energy efficiency. Our studies published in early 2000’s have developed a new research field as data management in MANETs. Also, our recent studies are expected to be significant guidelines of new research directions. We conclude the review by discussing some future directions for research. PMID:28496052

  5. Data management issues in mobile ad hoc networks.

    PubMed

    Hara, Takahiro

    2017-01-01

    Research on mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) has become a hot research topic since the middle 1990's. Over the first decade, most research focused on networking techniques, ignoring data management issues. We, however, realized early the importance of data management in MANETs, and have been conducting studies in this area for 15 years. In this review, we summarize some key technical issues related to data management in MANETs, and the studies we have done in addressing these issues, which include placement of data replicas, update management, and query processing with security management. The techniques proposed in our studies have been designed with deep considerations of MANET features including network partitioning, node participation/disappearance, limited network bandwidth, and energy efficiency. Our studies published in early 2000's have developed a new research field as data management in MANETs. Also, our recent studies are expected to be significant guidelines of new research directions. We conclude the review by discussing some future directions for research.

  6. Integrated data lookup and replication scheme in mobile ad hoc networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Kai; Nahrstedt, Klara

    2001-11-01

    Accessing remote data is a challenging task in mobile ad hoc networks. Two problems have to be solved: (1) how to learn about available data in the network; and (2) how to access desired data even when the original copy of the data is unreachable. In this paper, we develop an integrated data lookup and replication scheme to solve these problems. In our scheme, a group of mobile nodes collectively host a set of data to improve data accessibility for all members of the group. They exchange data availability information by broadcasting advertising (ad) messages to the group using an adaptive sending rate policy. The ad messages are used by other nodes to derive a local data lookup table, and to reduce data redundancy within a connected group. Our data replication scheme predicts group partitioning based on each node's current location and movement patterns, and replicates data to other partitions before partitioning occurs. Our simulations show that data availability information can quickly propagate throughout the network, and that the successful data access ratio of each node is significantly improved.

  7. ARSENAL: A Cross Layer Architecture for Secure Resilient Tactical Mobile AdHoc Networks

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-01-21

    stations separated by 0.5 to 1 km can be coherently measured to a single mobile subscriber using LTE signaling. These are the first measurements of...undertake three parallel but inter-coupled tasks geared towards a) performing measurements via real deployments and enhancing our understanding of layer...dependencies and vulnerabilities in mobile ad hoc networks; these measurements will be on existing testbeds at The views, opinions and/or findings

  8. ARSENAL: A Cross Layer Architecture for SecureResilient Tactical Mobile AdHoc Networks

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-01-21

    stations separated by 0.5 to 1 km can be coherently measured to a single mobile subscriber using LTE signaling. These are the first measurements of...undertake three parallel but inter-coupled tasks geared towards a) performing measurements via real deployments and enhancing our understanding of layer...dependencies and vulnerabilities in mobile ad hoc networks; these measurements will be on existing testbeds at The views, opinions and/or findings

  9. Enhancement of Beaconless Location-Based Routing with Signal Strength Assistance for Ad-Hoc Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Guowei; Itoh, Kenichi; Sato, Takuro

    Routing in Ad-hoc networks is unreliable due to the mobility of the nodes. Location-based routing protocols, unlike other protocols which rely on flooding, excel in network scalability. Furthermore, new location-based routing protocols, like, e. g. BLR [1], IGF [2], & CBF [3] have been proposed, with the feature of not requiring beacons in MAC-layer, which improve more in terms of scalability. Such beaconless routing protocols can work efficiently in dense network areas. However, these protocols' algorithms have no ability to avoid from routing into sparse areas. In this article, historical signal strength has been added as a factor into the BLR algorithm, which avoids routing into sparse area, and consequently improves the global routing efficiency.

  10. Ad Hoc Influenza Vaccination During Years of Significant Antigenic Drift in a Tropical City With 2 Seasonal Peaks

    PubMed Central

    Wong, Martin C.S.; Nelson, E. Anthony S.; Leung, Czarina; Lee, Nelson; Chan, Martin C.W.; Choi, Kin Wing; Rainer, Timothy H.; Cheng, Frankie W.T.; Wong, Samuel Y.S.; Lai, Christopher K.C.; Lam, Bosco; Cheung, Tak Hong; Leung, Ting Fan; Chan, Paul K.S.

    2016-01-01

    Abstract We evaluated the acceptability of an additional ad hoc influenza vaccination among the health care professionals following seasons with significant antigenic drift. Self-administered, anonymous surveys were performed by hard copy questionnaires in public hospitals, and by an on-line platform available to all healthcare professionals, from April 1st to May 31st, 2015. A total of 1290 healthcare professionals completed the questionnaires, including doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals working in both the public and private systems. Only 31.8% of participating respondents expressed an intention to receive the additional vaccine, despite that the majority of them agreed or strongly agreed that it would bring benefit to the community (88.9%), save lives (86.7%), reduce medical expenses (76.3%), satisfy public expectation (82.8%), and increase awareness of vaccination (86.1%). However, a significant proportion expressed concern that the vaccine could disturb the normal immunization schedule (45.5%); felt uncertain what to do in the next vaccination round (66.0%); perceived that the summer peak might not occur (48.2%); and believed that the summer peak might not be of the same virus (83.5%). Furthermore, 27.8% of all respondents expected that the additional vaccination could weaken the efficacy of previous vaccinations; 51.3% was concerned about side effects; and 61.3% estimated that there would be a low uptake rate. If the supply of vaccine was limited, higher priority groups were considered to include the elderly aged ≥65 years with chronic medical conditions (89.2%), the elderly living in residential care homes (87.4%), and long-stay residents of institutions for the disabled (80.7%). The strongest factors associated with accepting the additional vaccine included immunization with influenza vaccines in the past 3 years, higher perceived risk of contracting influenza, and higher perceived severity of the disease impact. The acceptability to an

  11. A Family of ACO Routing Protocols for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

    PubMed Central

    Rupérez Cañas, Delfín; Sandoval Orozco, Ana Lucila; García Villalba, Luis Javier; Kim, Tai-hoon

    2017-01-01

    In this work, an ACO routing protocol for mobile ad hoc networks based on AntHocNet is specified. As its predecessor, this new protocol, called AntOR, is hybrid in the sense that it contains elements from both reactive and proactive routing. Specifically, it combines a reactive route setup process with a proactive route maintenance and improvement process. Key aspects of the AntOR protocol are the disjoint-link and disjoint-node routes, separation between the regular pheromone and the virtual pheromone in the diffusion process and the exploration of routes, taking into consideration the number of hops in the best routes. In this work, a family of ACO routing protocols based on AntOR is also specified. These protocols are based on protocol successive refinements. In this work, we also present a parallelized version of AntOR that we call PAntOR. Using programming multiprocessor architectures based on the shared memory protocol, PAntOR allows running tasks in parallel using threads. This parallelization is applicable in the route setup phase, route local repair process and link failure notification. In addition, a variant of PAntOR that consists of having more than one interface, which we call PAntOR-MI (PAntOR-Multiple Interface), is specified. This approach parallelizes the sending of broadcast messages by interface through threads. PMID:28531159

  12. A Family of ACO Routing Protocols for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks.

    PubMed

    Rupérez Cañas, Delfín; Sandoval Orozco, Ana Lucila; García Villalba, Luis Javier; Kim, Tai-Hoon

    2017-05-22

    In this work, an ACO routing protocol for mobile ad hoc networks based on AntHocNet is specified. As its predecessor, this new protocol, called AntOR, is hybrid in the sense that it contains elements from both reactive and proactive routing. Specifically, it combines a reactive route setup process with a proactive route maintenance and improvement process. Key aspects of the AntOR protocol are the disjoint-link and disjoint-node routes, separation between the regular pheromone and the virtual pheromone in the diffusion process and the exploration of routes, taking into consideration the number of hops in the best routes. In this work, a family of ACO routing protocols based on AntOR is also specified. These protocols are based on protocol successive refinements. In this work, we also present a parallelized version of AntOR that we call PAntOR. Using programming multiprocessor architectures based on the shared memory protocol, PAntOR allows running tasks in parallel using threads. This parallelization is applicable in the route setup phase, route local repair process and link failure notification. In addition, a variant of PAntOR that consists of having more than one interface, which we call PAntOR-MI (PAntOR-Multiple Interface), is specified. This approach parallelizes the sending of broadcast messages by interface through threads.

  13. Intelligent QoS routing algorithm based on improved AODV protocol for Ad Hoc networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huibin, Liu; Jun, Zhang

    2016-04-01

    Mobile Ad Hoc Networks were playing an increasingly important part in disaster reliefs, military battlefields and scientific explorations. However, networks routing difficulties are more and more outstanding due to inherent structures. This paper proposed an improved cuckoo searching-based Ad hoc On-Demand Distance Vector Routing protocol (CSAODV). It elaborately designs the calculation methods of optimal routing algorithm used by protocol and transmission mechanism of communication-package. In calculation of optimal routing algorithm by CS Algorithm, by increasing QoS constraint, the found optimal routing algorithm can conform to the requirements of specified bandwidth and time delay, and a certain balance can be obtained among computation spending, bandwidth and time delay. Take advantage of NS2 simulation software to take performance test on protocol in three circumstances and validate the feasibility and validity of CSAODV protocol. In results, CSAODV routing protocol is more adapt to the change of network topological structure than AODV protocol, which improves package delivery fraction of protocol effectively, reduce the transmission time delay of network, reduce the extra burden to network brought by controlling information, and improve the routing efficiency of network.

  14. Quality of service routing in wireless ad hoc networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sane, Sachin J.; Patcha, Animesh; Mishra, Amitabh

    2003-08-01

    An efficient routing protocol is essential to guarantee application level quality of service running on wireless ad hoc networks. In this paper we propose a novel routing algorithm that computes a path between a source and a destination by considering several important constraints such as path-life, availability of sufficient energy as well as buffer space in each of the nodes on the path between the source and destination. The algorithm chooses the best path from among the multiples paths that it computes between two endpoints. We consider the use of control packets that run at a priority higher than the data packets in determining the multiple paths. The paper also examines the impact of different schedulers such as weighted fair queuing, and weighted random early detection among others in preserving the QoS level guarantees. Our extensive simulation results indicate that the algorithm improves the overall lifetime of a network, reduces the number of dropped packets, and decreases the end-to-end delay for real-time voice application.

  15. Intelligent self-organization methods for wireless ad hoc sensor networks based on limited resources

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hortos, William S.

    2006-05-01

    A wireless ad hoc sensor network (WSN) is a configuration for area surveillance that affords rapid, flexible deployment in arbitrary threat environments. There is no infrastructure support and sensor nodes communicate with each other only when they are in transmission range. To a greater degree than the terminals found in mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) for communications, sensor nodes are resource-constrained, with limited computational processing, bandwidth, memory, and power, and are typically unattended once in operation. Consequently, the level of information exchange among nodes, to support any complex adaptive algorithms to establish network connectivity and optimize throughput, not only deplete those limited resources and creates high overhead in narrowband communications, but also increase network vulnerability to eavesdropping by malicious nodes. Cooperation among nodes, critical to the mission of sensor networks, can thus be disrupted by the inappropriate choice of the method for self-organization. Recent published contributions to the self-configuration of ad hoc sensor networks, e.g., self-organizing mapping and swarm intelligence techniques, have been based on the adaptive control of the cross-layer interactions found in MANET protocols to achieve one or more performance objectives: connectivity, intrusion resistance, power control, throughput, and delay. However, few studies have examined the performance of these algorithms when implemented with the limited resources of WSNs. In this paper, self-organization algorithms for the initiation, operation and maintenance of a network topology from a collection of wireless sensor nodes are proposed that improve the performance metrics significant to WSNs. The intelligent algorithm approach emphasizes low computational complexity, energy efficiency and robust adaptation to change, allowing distributed implementation with the actual limited resources of the cooperative nodes of the network. Extensions of the

  16. Clinician Ratings of Interpreter Mediated Visits in Underserved Primary Care Settings with Ad hoc, In-person Professional, and Video Conferencing Modes

    PubMed Central

    Nápoles, Anna M.; Santoyo-Olsson, Jasmine; Karliner, Leah S.; O’Brien, Helen; Gregorich, Steven E.; Pérez-Stable, Eliseo J.

    2013-01-01

    Language interpretation ameliorates health disparities among underserved limited English-proficient patients, yet few studies have compared clinician satisfaction with these services. Self-administered clinician post-visit surveys compared the quality of interpretation and communication, visit satisfaction, degree of patient engagement, and cultural competence of visits using untrained people acting as interpreters (ad hoc), in-person professional, or video conferencing professional interpretation for 283 visits. Adjusting for clinician and patient characteristics, the quality of interpretation of in-person and video conferencing modes were rated similarly (OR=1.79; 95% CI 0.74, 4.33). The quality of in-person (OR=5.55; 95% CI 1.50, 20.51) and video conferencing (OR=3.10; 95% CI 1.16, 8.31) were rated higher than ad hoc interpretation. Self-assessed cultural competence was better for in-person versus video conferencing interpretation (OR=2.32; 95% CI 1.11, 4.86). Video conferencing interpretation increases access without compromising quality, but cultural nuances may be better addressed by in-person interpreters. Professional interpretation is superior to ad hoc (OR=4.15; 95% CI 1.43, 12.09). PMID:20173271

  17. Energy conservation in ad hoc multimedia networks using traffic-shaping mechanisms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chandra, Surendar

    2003-12-01

    In this work, we explore network traffic shaping mechanisms that deliver packets at pre-determined intervals; allowing the network interface to transition to a lower power consuming sleep state. We focus our efforts on commodity devices, IEEE 802.11b ad hoc mode and popular streaming formats. We argue that factors such as the lack of scheduling clock phase synchronization among the participants and scheduling delays introduced by back ground tasks affect the potential energy savings. Increasing the periodic transmission delays to transmit data infrequently can offset some of these effects at the expense of flooding the wireless channel for longer periods of time; potentially increasing the time to acquire the channel for non-multimedia traffic. Buffering mechanisms built into media browsers can mitigate the effects of these added delays from being mis-interpreted as network congestion. We show that practical implementations of such traffic shaping mechanisms can offer significant energy savings.

  18. PCPA: A Practical Certificateless Conditional Privacy Preserving Authentication Scheme for Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks

    PubMed Central

    2018-01-01

    Vehicle ad hoc networks (VANETs) is a promising network scenario for greatly improving traffic efficiency and safety, in which smart vehicles can communicate with other vehicles or roadside units. For the availability of VANETs, it is very important to deal with the security and privacy problems for VANETs. In this paper, based on certificateless cryptography and elliptic curve cryptography, we present a certificateless signature with message recovery (CLS-MR), which we believe are of independent interest. Then, a practical certificateless conditional privacy preserving authentication (PCPA) scheme is proposed by incorporating the proposed CLS-MR scheme. Furthermore, the security analysis shows that PCPA satisfies all security and privacy requirements. The evaluation results indicate that PCPA achieves low computation and communication costs because there is no need to use the bilinear pairing and map-to-point hash operations. Moreover, extensive simulations show that PCPA is feasible and achieves prominent performances in terms of message delay and message loss ratio, and thus is more suitable for the deployment and adoption of VANETs. PMID:29762511

  19. Ad hoc committee on global climate issues: Annual report

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Gerhard, L.C.; Hanson, B.M.B.

    2000-01-01

    The AAPG Ad Hoc Committee on Global Climate Issues has studied the supposition of human-induced climate change since the committee's inception in January 1998. This paper details the progress and findings of the committee through June 1999. At that time there had been essentially no geologic input into the global climate change debate. The following statements reflect the current state of climate knowledge from the geologic perspective as interpreted by the majority of the committee membership. The committee recognizes that new data could change its conclusions. The earth's climate is constantly changing owing to natural variability in earth processes. Natural climate variability over recent geological time is greater than reasonable estimates of potential human-induced greenhouse gas changes. Because no tool is available to test the supposition of human-induced climate change and the range of natural variability is so great, there is no discernible human influence on global climate at this time.

  20. Scalable Authenticated Tree Based Group Key Exchange for Ad-Hoc Groups

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Desmedt, Yvo; Lange, Tanja; Burmester, Mike

    Task-specific groups are often formed in an ad-hoc manner within large corporate structures, such as companies. Take the following typical scenario: A director decides to set up a task force group for some specific project. An order is passed down the hierarchy where it finally reaches a manager who selects some employees to form the group. The members should communicate in a secure way and for efficiency, a symmetric encryption system is chosen. To establish a joint secret key for the group, a group key exchange (GKE) protocol is used. We show how to use an existing Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) to achieve authenticated GKE by modifying the protocol and particularly by including signatures.

  1. Robotic disaster recovery efforts with ad-hoc deployable cloud computing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Straub, Jeremy; Marsh, Ronald; Mohammad, Atif F.

    2013-06-01

    Autonomous operations of search and rescue (SaR) robots is an ill posed problem, which is complexified by the dynamic disaster recovery environment. In a typical SaR response scenario, responder robots will require different levels of processing capabilities during various parts of the response effort and will need to utilize multiple algorithms. Placing these capabilities onboard the robot is a mediocre solution that precludes algorithm specific performance optimization and results in mediocre performance. Architecture for an ad-hoc, deployable cloud environment suitable for use in a disaster response scenario is presented. Under this model, each service provider is optimized for the task and maintains a database of situation-relevant information. This service-oriented architecture (SOA 3.0) compliant framework also serves as an example of the efficient use of SOA 3.0 in an actual cloud application.

  2. Trust Management in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks for Bias Minimization and Application Performance Maximization

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-02-26

    set of anomaly detection rules 62 I.-R. Chen et al. / Ad Hoc Networks 19 (2014) 59–74 Author’s personal copy including the interval rule (for...deficiencies in anomaly detection (e.g., imperfection of rules) by a false negative probability (PHfn) of misidentifying an unhealthy node as a...multimedia servers, Multimedia Syst. 8 (2) (2000) 83–91. [53] R. Mitchell, I.R. Chen, Adaptive intrusion detection for unmanned aircraft systems based on

  3. Federal Government Printing and Publishing: Policy Issues. Report of the Ad Hoc Advisory Committee on Revision of Title 44.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Joint Committee on Printing, Washington, DC.

    Designed to present a better understanding of the government's system of printing and distributing information and to highlight problems, alternatives, and important policy questions, this report synthesizes 13 weeks of the Ad Hoc Advisory Committee hearings on six topics: (1) Administration of policy--who should establish and administer policy in…

  4. An adaptive density-based routing protocol for flying Ad Hoc networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zheng, Xueli; Qi, Qian; Wang, Qingwen; Li, Yongqiang

    2017-10-01

    An Adaptive Density-based Routing Protocol (ADRP) for Flying Ad Hoc Networks (FANETs) is proposed in this paper. The main objective is to calculate forwarding probability adaptively in order to increase the efficiency of forwarding in FANETs. ADRP dynamically fine-tunes the rebroadcasting probability of a node for routing request packets according to the number of neighbour nodes. Indeed, it is more interesting to privilege the retransmission by nodes with little neighbour nodes. We describe the protocol, implement it and evaluate its performance using NS-2 network simulator. Simulation results reveal that ADRP achieves better performance in terms of the packet delivery fraction, average end-to-end delay, normalized routing load, normalized MAC load and throughput, which is respectively compared with AODV.

  5. Linking Satellites Via Earth "Hot Spots" and the Internet to Form Ad Hoc Constellations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mandl, Dan; Frye, Stu; Grosvenor, Sandra; Ingram, Mary Ann; Langley, John; Miranda, Felix; Lee, Richard Q.; Romanofsky, Robert; Zaman, Afoz; Popovic, Zoya

    2004-01-01

    As more assets are placed in orbit, opportunities emerge to combine various sets of satellites in temporary constellations to perform collaborative image collections. Often, new operations concepts for a satellite or set of satellites emerge after launch. To the degree with which new space assets can be inexpensively and rapidly integrated into temporary or "ad hoc" constellations, will determine whether these new ideas will be implemented or not. On the Earth Observing 1 (EO-1) satellite, a New Millennium Program mission, a number of experiments were conducted and are being conducted to demonstrate various aspects of an architecture that, when taken as a whole, will enable progressive mission autonomy. In particular, the target architecture will use adaptive ground antenna arrays to form, as close as possible, the equivalent of wireless access points for low earth orbiting satellites. Coupled with various ground and flight software and the Internet. the architecture enables progressive mission autonomy. Thus, new collaborative sensing techniques can be implemented post-launch. This paper will outline the overall operations concept and highlight details of both the research effort being conducted in of adaptive antenna arrays and some of the related successful autonomy software that has been implemented using EO-1 and other operational satellites. Keywords: collaborative remote sensing smart antennas, adaptive antenna arrays, sensor webs. ad hoc constellations, mission autonomy and

  6. An Ad-hoc Satellite Network to Measure Filamentary Current Structures in the Auroral Zone

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nabong, C.; Fritz, T. A.; Semeter, J. L.

    2014-12-01

    An ad-hoc cubesat-based satellite network project known as ANDESITE is under development at Boston University. It aims to develop a dense constellation of easy-to-use, rapidly-deployable low-cost wireless sensor nodes in space. The objectives of the project are threefold: 1) Demonstrate viability of satellite based sensor networks by deploying an 8-node miniature sensor network to study the filamentation of the field aligned currents in the auroral zones of the Earth's magnetosphere. 2) Test the scalability of proposed protocols, including localization techniques, tracking, data aggregation, and routing, for a 3 dimensional wireless sensor network using a "flock" of nodes. 3) Construct a 6U Cube-sat running the Android OS as an integrated constellation manager, data mule and sensor node deplorer. This small network of sensor nodes will resolve current densities at different spatial resolutions in the near-Earth magnetosphere using measurements from magnetometers with 1-nT sensitivities and 0.2 nT/√Hz self-noise. Mapping of these currents will provide new constraints for models of auroral particle acceleration, wave-particle interactions, ionospheric destabilization, and other kinetic processes operating in the low-beta plasma of the near Earth magnetosphere.

  7. Assessment of interbreeding and introgression of farm genes into a small Scottish Atlantic salmon Salmo salar stock: ad hoc samples - ad hoc results?

    PubMed

    Verspoor, E; Knox, D; Marshall, S

    2016-12-01

    An eclectic set of tissues and existing data, including purposely collected samples, spanning 1997-2006, was used in an ad hoc assessment of hybridization and introgression of farmed wild Atlantic salmon Salmo salar in the small Loch na Thull (LnT) catchment in north-west Scotland. The catchment is in an area of marine farm production and contains freshwater smolt rearing cages. The LnT S. salar stock was found to be genetically distinctive from stocks in neighbouring rivers and, despite regular reports of feral farm S. salar, there was no evidence of physical or genetic mixing. This cannot be completely ruled out, however, and low level mixing with other local wild stocks has been suggested. The LnT population appeared underpinned by relatively smaller effective number of breeders (N eb ) and showed relatively low levels of genetic diversity, consistent with a small effective population size. Small sample sizes, an incomplete farm baseline and the use of non-diagnostic molecular markers, constrain the power of the analysis but the findings strongly support the LnT catchment having a genetically distinct wild S. salar population little affected by interbreeding with feral farm escapes. © 2016 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

  8. Standardization of Negative Controls in Diagnostic Immunohistochemistry: Recommendations From the International Ad Hoc Expert Panel

    PubMed Central

    Torlakovic, Emina E.; Francis, Glenn; Garratt, John; Gilks, Blake; Hyjek, Elizabeth; Ibrahim, Merdol; Miller, Rodney; Nielsen, Søren; Petcu, Eugen B.; Swanson, Paul E.; Taylor, Clive R.; Vyberg, Mogens

    2014-01-01

    Standardization of controls, both positive and negative controls, is needed for diagnostic immunohistochemistry (dIHC). The use of IHC-negative controls, irrespective of type, although well established, is not standardized. As such, the relevance and applicability of negative controls continues to challenge both pathologists and laboratory budgets. Despite the clear theoretical notion that appropriate controls serve to demonstrate the sensitivity and specificity of the dIHC test, it remains unclear which types of positive and negative controls are applicable and/or useful in day-to-day clinical practice. There is a perceived need to provide “best practice recommendations” for the use of negative controls. This perception is driven not only by logistics and cost issues, but also by increased pressure for accurate IHC testing, especially when IHC is performed for predictive markers, the number of which is rising as personalized medicine continues to develop. Herein, an international ad hoc expert panel reviews classification of negative controls relevant to clinical practice, proposes standard terminology for negative controls, considers the total evidence of IHC specificity that is available to pathologists, and develops a set of recommendations for the use of negative controls in dIHC based on “fit-for-use” principles. PMID:24714041

  9. Identifying factors of activities of daily living important for cost and caregiver outcomes in Alzheimer's disease.

    PubMed

    Reed, Catherine; Belger, Mark; Vellas, Bruno; Andrews, Jeffrey Scott; Argimon, Josep M; Bruno, Giuseppe; Dodel, Richard; Jones, Roy W; Wimo, Anders; Haro, Josep Maria

    2016-02-01

    We aimed to obtain a better understanding of how different aspects of patient functioning affect key cost and caregiver outcomes in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Baseline data from a prospective observational study of community-living AD patients (GERAS) were used. Functioning was assessed using the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study-Activities of Daily Living Scale. Generalized linear models were conducted to analyze the relationship between scores for total activities of daily living (ADL), basic ADL (BADL), instrumental ADL (IADL), ADL subdomains (confirmed through factor analysis) and individual ADL questions, and total societal costs, patient healthcare and social care costs, total and supervision caregiver time, and caregiver burden. Four distinct ADL subdomains were confirmed: basic activities, domestic/household activities, communication, and outside activities. Higher total societal costs were associated with impairments in all aspects of ADL, including all subdomains; patient costs were associated with total ADL and BADL, and basic activities subdomain scores. Both total and supervision caregiver hours were associated with total ADL and IADL scores, and domestic/household and outside activities subdomain scores (greater hours associated with greater functional impairments). There was no association between caregiver burden and BADL or basic activities subdomain scores. The relationship between total ADL, IADL, and the outside activities subdomain and outcomes differed between patients with mild and moderate-to-severe AD. Identification of ADL subdomains may lead to a better understanding of the association between patient function and costs and caregiver outcomes at different stages of AD, in particular the outside activities subdomain within mild AD.

  10. Noise-Assisted Concurrent Multipath Traffic Distribution in Ad Hoc Networks

    PubMed Central

    Murata, Masayuki

    2013-01-01

    The concept of biologically inspired networking has been introduced to tackle unpredictable and unstable situations in computer networks, especially in wireless ad hoc networks where network conditions are continuously changing, resulting in the need of robustness and adaptability of control methods. Unfortunately, existing methods often rely heavily on the detailed knowledge of each network component and the preconfigured, that is, fine-tuned, parameters. In this paper, we utilize a new concept, called attractor perturbation (AP), which enables controlling the network performance using only end-to-end information. Based on AP, we propose a concurrent multipath traffic distribution method, which aims at lowering the average end-to-end delay by only adjusting the transmission rate on each path. We demonstrate through simulations that, by utilizing the attractor perturbation relationship, the proposed method achieves a lower average end-to-end delay compared to other methods which do not take fluctuations into account. PMID:24319375

  11. Predicting impact of multi-paths on phase change in map-based vehicular ad hoc networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rahmes, Mark; Lemieux, George; Sonnenberg, Jerome; Chester, David B.

    2014-05-01

    Dynamic Spectrum Access, which through its ability to adapt the operating frequency of a radio, is widely believed to be a solution to the limited spectrum problem. Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs) can extend high capacity mobile communications over large areas where fixed and tethered-mobile systems are not available. In one use case with high potential impact cognitive radio employs spectrum sensing to facilitate identification of allocated frequencies not currently accessed by their primary users. Primary users own the rights to radiate at a specific frequency and geographic location, secondary users opportunistically attempt to radiate at a specific frequency when the primary user is not using it. We quantify optimal signal detection in map based cognitive radio networks with multiple rapidly varying phase changes and multiple orthogonal signals. Doppler shift occurs due to reflection, scattering, and rapid vehicle movement. Path propagation as well as vehicle movement produces either constructive or destructive interference with the incident wave. Our signal detection algorithms can assist the Doppler spread compensation algorithm by deciding how many phase changes in signals are present in a selected band of interest. Additionally we can populate a spatial radio environment map (REM) database with known information that can be leveraged in an ad hoc network to facilitate Dynamic Spectrum Access. We show how topography can help predict the impact of multi-paths on phase change, as well as about the prediction from dense traffic areas. Utilization of high resolution geospatial data layers in RF propagation analysis is directly applicable.

  12. A memetic optimization algorithm for multi-constrained multicast routing in ad hoc networks

    PubMed Central

    Hammad, Karim; El Bakly, Ahmed M.

    2018-01-01

    A mobile ad hoc network is a conventional self-configuring network where the routing optimization problem—subject to various Quality-of-Service (QoS) constraints—represents a major challenge. Unlike previously proposed solutions, in this paper, we propose a memetic algorithm (MA) employing an adaptive mutation parameter, to solve the multicast routing problem with higher search ability and computational efficiency. The proposed algorithm utilizes an updated scheme, based on statistical analysis, to estimate the best values for all MA parameters and enhance MA performance. The numerical results show that the proposed MA improved the delay and jitter of the network, while reducing computational complexity as compared to existing algorithms. PMID:29509760

  13. A memetic optimization algorithm for multi-constrained multicast routing in ad hoc networks.

    PubMed

    Ramadan, Rahab M; Gasser, Safa M; El-Mahallawy, Mohamed S; Hammad, Karim; El Bakly, Ahmed M

    2018-01-01

    A mobile ad hoc network is a conventional self-configuring network where the routing optimization problem-subject to various Quality-of-Service (QoS) constraints-represents a major challenge. Unlike previously proposed solutions, in this paper, we propose a memetic algorithm (MA) employing an adaptive mutation parameter, to solve the multicast routing problem with higher search ability and computational efficiency. The proposed algorithm utilizes an updated scheme, based on statistical analysis, to estimate the best values for all MA parameters and enhance MA performance. The numerical results show that the proposed MA improved the delay and jitter of the network, while reducing computational complexity as compared to existing algorithms.

  14. Context dependent off loading for cloudlet in mobile ad-hoc network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bhatt, N.; Nadesh, R. K.; ArivuSelvan, K.

    2017-11-01

    Cloud Computing in Mobile Ad-hoc network is emerging part of research consideration as the demand and competency of mobile devices increased in last few years. To follow out operation within the remote cloud builds the postponement and influences the administration standard. To keep away from this trouble cloudlet is presented. Cloudlet gives identical support of the devices as cloud at low inactivity however at high transfer speed. Be that as it may, choice of a cloudlet for offloading calculation with flat energy is a noteworthy test if multiple cloud let is accessible adjacent. Here I proposed energy and bandwidth (Traffic overload for communication with cloud) aware cloudlet selection strategy based on the context dependency of the device location. It works on the basis of mobile device location and bandwidth availability of cloudlet. The cloudlet offloading and selection process using given solution is simulated in Cloud ~ Simulator.

  15. Neuroprotection as initial therapy in acute stroke. Third Report of an Ad Hoc Consensus Group Meeting. The European Ad Hoc Consensus Group.

    PubMed

    1998-01-01

    Although a considerable body of scientific data is now available on neuroprotection in acute ischaemic stroke, this field is not yet established in clinical practice. At its third meeting, the European Ad Hoc Consensus Group considered the potential for neuroprotection in acute stroke and the practical problems attendant on the existence of a very limited therapeutic window before irreversible brain damage occurs, and came to the following conclusions. NEUROPROTECTANTS IN CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT: Convincing clinical evidence for an efficacious neuroprotective treatment in acute stroke is still required. Caution should be exercised in interpreting and extrapolating experimental results to stroke patients, who are a very heterogeneous group. The limitations of the time windows and the outcome measures chosen in trials of acute stroke therapy have an important influence on the results. The overall distribution of functional outcomes provides more statistical information than the proportion above a threshold outcome value. Neurological outcome should also be assessed. Neuroprotectants should not be tested clinically in phase II or phase III trials in a time window that exceeds those determined in experimental studies. The harmful effects of a drug in humans may override its neuroprotective potential determined in animals. Agents that act at several different levels in the ischaemic cascade may be more effective than those with a single mechanism of action. CURRENT IN-HOSPITAL MANAGEMENT OF ACUTE STROKE: The four major physiological variables that must be monitored and managed are blood pressure, arterial blood gas levels, body temperature, and glycaemia. The effects of controlling these physiological variables have not been studied in prospective trials, though they may all contribute to the outcome of acute ischaemic stroke and affect the duration of the therapeutic window. Optimal physiological parameters are inherently neuroprotective. Trials of new agents for the

  16. Cooperative Education and the Academy. and Response to the Preliminary Report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Cooperative Education and the Curriculum.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Heinemann, Harry N.; And Others

    1988-01-01

    Two articles describe the final report submitted by the Ad Hoc Committee on Cooperative Education and the Curriculum to the Cooperative Education Association and the reaction to that report by the person who established the committee. (JOW)

  17. Energy Aware Cluster-Based Routing in Flying Ad-Hoc Networks.

    PubMed

    Aadil, Farhan; Raza, Ali; Khan, Muhammad Fahad; Maqsood, Muazzam; Mehmood, Irfan; Rho, Seungmin

    2018-05-03

    Flying ad-hoc networks (FANETs) are a very vibrant research area nowadays. They have many military and civil applications. Limited battery energy and the high mobility of micro unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) represent their two main problems, i.e., short flight time and inefficient routing. In this paper, we try to address both of these problems by means of efficient clustering. First, we adjust the transmission power of the UAVs by anticipating their operational requirements. Optimal transmission range will have minimum packet loss ratio (PLR) and better link quality, which ultimately save the energy consumed during communication. Second, we use a variant of the K-Means Density clustering algorithm for selection of cluster heads. Optimal cluster heads enhance the cluster lifetime and reduce the routing overhead. The proposed model outperforms the state of the art artificial intelligence techniques such as Ant Colony Optimization-based clustering algorithm and Grey Wolf Optimization-based clustering algorithm. The performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated in term of number of clusters, cluster building time, cluster lifetime and energy consumption.

  18. An enhanced performance through agent-based secure approach for mobile ad hoc networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bisen, Dhananjay; Sharma, Sanjeev

    2018-01-01

    This paper proposes an agent-based secure enhanced performance approach (AB-SEP) for mobile ad hoc network. In this approach, agent nodes are selected through optimal node reliability as a factor. This factor is calculated on the basis of node performance features such as degree difference, normalised distance value, energy level, mobility and optimal hello interval of node. After selection of agent nodes, a procedure of malicious behaviour detection is performed using fuzzy-based secure architecture (FBSA). To evaluate the performance of the proposed approach, comparative analysis is done with conventional schemes using performance parameters such as packet delivery ratio, throughput, total packet forwarding, network overhead, end-to-end delay and percentage of malicious detection.

  19. A high performance, ad-hoc, fuzzy query processing system for relational databases

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mansfield, William H., Jr.; Fleischman, Robert M.

    1992-01-01

    Database queries involving imprecise or fuzzy predicates are currently an evolving area of academic and industrial research. Such queries place severe stress on the indexing and I/O subsystems of conventional database environments since they involve the search of large numbers of records. The Datacycle architecture and research prototype is a database environment that uses filtering technology to perform an efficient, exhaustive search of an entire database. It has recently been modified to include fuzzy predicates in its query processing. The approach obviates the need for complex index structures, provides unlimited query throughput, permits the use of ad-hoc fuzzy membership functions, and provides a deterministic response time largely independent of query complexity and load. This paper describes the Datacycle prototype implementation of fuzzy queries and some recent performance results.

  20. Overseas Cost of Living Allowances (COLA)

    Science.gov Websites

    ) Government Meal Rate Meal Tickets Mileage Rates Overseas Cost of Living Allowances (COLA) Calculation of Reporting Procedures Station Allowance Changes Programs & Services > Allowances > Overseas Cost of Allowances Submit Questions Overseas Cost of Living Allowances (COLA) The Overseas Cost of Living Allowance

  1. Hearings before the Ad Hoc Committee on Maritime Education and Training of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, Ninety-Third Congress; Second Session on Officer Requirements, and Session on Maritime Education Regarding Safety at Sea. Serial No. 93-44.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries.

    The publication consists of Congressional hearings before the Ad Hoc Committee on Maritime Education and Training: (1) June 26, 1974 hearing pertaining to officer requirements and (2) November 19, 1974 hearing on maritime education regarding safety at sea. Estimated cost per graduate for the U. S. Merchant Marine 1973 class was $31,100. Supply and…

  2. An epidemic model for biological data fusion in ad hoc sensor networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chang, K. C.; Kotari, Vikas

    2009-05-01

    Bio terrorism can be a very refined and a catastrophic approach of attacking a nation. This requires the development of a complete architecture dedicatedly designed for this purpose which includes but is not limited to Sensing/Detection, Tracking and Fusion, Communication, and others. In this paper we focus on one such architecture and evaluate its performance. Various sensors for this specific purpose have been studied. The accent has been on use of Distributed systems such as ad-hoc networks and on application of epidemic data fusion algorithms to better manage the bio threat data. The emphasis has been on understanding the performance characteristics of these algorithms under diversified real time scenarios which are implemented through extensive JAVA based simulations. Through comparative studies on communication and fusion the performance of channel filter algorithm for the purpose of biological sensor data fusion are validated.

  3. Impact of Beamforming on the Path Connectivity in Cognitive Radio Ad Hoc Networks

    PubMed Central

    Dung, Le The; Hieu, Tran Dinh; Choi, Seong-Gon; Kim, Byung-Seo; An, Beongku

    2017-01-01

    This paper investigates the impact of using directional antennas and beamforming schemes on the connectivity of cognitive radio ad hoc networks (CRAHNs). Specifically, considering that secondary users use two kinds of directional antennas, i.e., uniform linear array (ULA) and uniform circular array (UCA) antennas, and two different beamforming schemes, i.e., randomized beamforming and center-directed to communicate with each other, we study the connectivity of all combination pairs of directional antennas and beamforming schemes and compare their performances to those of omnidirectional antennas. The results obtained in this paper show that, compared with omnidirectional transmission, beamforming transmission only benefits the connectivity when the density of secondary user is moderate. Moreover, the combination of UCA and randomized beamforming scheme gives the highest path connectivity in all evaluating scenarios. Finally, the number of antenna elements and degree of path loss greatly affect path connectivity in CRAHNs. PMID:28346377

  4. Preserving Nevada's Environmental Heritage: A Report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Environmental Quality. Final Report to the Governor's Natural Resources Council.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nevada State Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources, Carson City.

    The Environmental Quality Ad Hoc Committee has prepared this report for the Governor's Natural Resources Council (Nevada). It is a compilation of available factual data focusing attention on needed statutory and administrative changes to preserve Nevada's environmental heritage and from which recommendations for future budgetary and legislative…

  5. Introduction to Blueweb: A Decentralized Scatternet Formation Algorithm for Bluetooth Ad Hoc Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yu, Chih-Min; Huang, Chia-Chi

    In this letter, a decentralized scatternet formation algorithm called Bluelayer is proposed. First, Bluelayer uses a designated root to construct a tree-shaped subnet and propagates an integer variable k1 called counter limit as well as a constant k in its downstream direction to determine new roots. Then each new root asks its upstream master to start a return connection procedure to convert the tree-shaped subnet into a web-shaped subnet for its immediate upstream root. At the same time, each new root repeats the same procedure as the root to build its own subnet until the whole scatternet is formed. Simulation results show that Bluelayer achieves good network scalability and generates an efficient scatternet configuration for various sizes of Bluetooth ad hoc network.

  6. Use and cost of outpatient visits of AD patients: CERAD XXII.

    PubMed

    Fillenbaum, G; Heyman, A; Peterson, B L; Pieper, C F; Weiman, A L

    2001-06-26

    To determine the probability, frequency, and cost of outpatient visits of patients with AD in the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD) as a function of stage of dementia and institutional status. Clinical information on 388 patients with AD enrolled in CERAD who had no serious comorbidities at baseline and for whom the stage of disease and institutional status were known, were linked to Health Care Financing Administration Physician/Supplier and Outpatient Standard Analytic (institutional outpatient) files for 1991 through 1995. None was registered in a health maintenance organization. Repeated measures regression models were used to examine the relationship of stage of disease to probability, frequency, and cost of outpatient visits for institutionalized and noninstitutionalized patients, with demographic characteristics and calendar time controlled. The annual proportion of patients with AD and a Medicare-reimbursed outpatient visit ranged from 81% to 95% and was not related to stage of dementia or institutional status. Among those with at least one outpatient visit, however, those living at home had fewer visits than did those in institutions, but their number of visits increased as dementia worsened. Those in institutions had a larger number of outpatient visits, but these did not vary significantly by stage of dementia. Neither location of residence nor stage affected the cost of outpatient visits. Among those with an outpatient visit, the frequency of visits and their relationship to stage of disease depends on institutional status.

  7. Random Time Identity Based Firewall In Mobile Ad hoc Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Suman, Patel, R. B.; Singh, Parvinder

    2010-11-01

    A mobile ad hoc network (MANET) is a self-organizing network of mobile routers and associated hosts connected by wireless links. MANETs are highly flexible and adaptable but at the same time are highly prone to security risks due to the open medium, dynamically changing network topology, cooperative algorithms, and lack of centralized control. Firewall is an effective means of protecting a local network from network-based security threats and forms a key component in MANET security architecture. This paper presents a review of firewall implementation techniques in MANETs and their relative merits and demerits. A new approach is proposed to select MANET nodes at random for firewall implementation. This approach randomly select a new node as firewall after fixed time and based on critical value of certain parameters like power backup. This approach effectively balances power and resource utilization of entire MANET because responsibility of implementing firewall is equally shared among all the nodes. At the same time it ensures improved security for MANETs from outside attacks as intruder will not be able to find out the entry point in MANET due to the random selection of nodes for firewall implementation.

  8. Moderation of the Relation of County-Level Cost of Living to Nutrition by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

    PubMed

    Basu, Sanjay; Wimer, Christopher; Seligman, Hilary

    2016-11-01

    To examine the association of county-level cost of living with nutrition among low-income Americans. We used the National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey (2012-2013; n = 14 313; including 5414 persons in households participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program [SNAP]) to examine associations between county-level cost-of-living metrics and both food acquisitions and the Healthy Eating Index, with control for individual-, household-, and county-level covariates and accounting for unmeasured confounders influencing both area of living and food acquisition. Living in a higher-cost county-particularly one with high rent costs-was associated with significantly lower volume of acquired vegetables, fruits, and whole grains; greater volume of acquired refined grains, fats and oils, and added sugars; and an 11% lower Healthy Eating Index score. Participation in SNAP was associated with nutritional improvements among persons living in higher-cost counties. Living in a higher-cost county (particularly with high rent costs) is associated with poorer nutrition among low-income Americans, and SNAP may mitigate the negative nutritional impact of high cost of living.

  9. Virtual machine-based simulation platform for mobile ad-hoc network-based cyber infrastructure

    DOE PAGES

    Yoginath, Srikanth B.; Perumalla, Kayla S.; Henz, Brian J.

    2015-09-29

    In modeling and simulating complex systems such as mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs) in de-fense communications, it is a major challenge to reconcile multiple important considerations: the rapidity of unavoidable changes to the software (network layers and applications), the difficulty of modeling the critical, implementation-dependent behavioral effects, the need to sustain larger scale scenarios, and the desire for faster simulations. Here we present our approach in success-fully reconciling them using a virtual time-synchronized virtual machine(VM)-based parallel ex-ecution framework that accurately lifts both the devices as well as the network communications to a virtual time plane while retaining full fidelity. At themore » core of our framework is a scheduling engine that operates at the level of a hypervisor scheduler, offering a unique ability to execute multi-core guest nodes over multi-core host nodes in an accurate, virtual time-synchronized manner. In contrast to other related approaches that suffer from either speed or accuracy issues, our framework provides MANET node-wise scalability, high fidelity of software behaviors, and time-ordering accuracy. The design and development of this framework is presented, and an ac-tual implementation based on the widely used Xen hypervisor system is described. Benchmarks with synthetic and actual applications are used to identify the benefits of our approach. The time inaccuracy of traditional emulation methods is demonstrated, in comparison with the accurate execution of our framework verified by theoretically correct results expected from analytical models of the same scenarios. In the largest high fidelity tests, we are able to perform virtual time-synchronized simulation of 64-node VM-based full-stack, actual software behaviors of MANETs containing a mix of static and mobile (unmanned airborne vehicle) nodes, hosted on a 32-core host, with full fidelity of unmodified ad-hoc routing protocols, unmodified

  10. Virtual machine-based simulation platform for mobile ad-hoc network-based cyber infrastructure

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yoginath, Srikanth B.; Perumalla, Kayla S.; Henz, Brian J.

    In modeling and simulating complex systems such as mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs) in de-fense communications, it is a major challenge to reconcile multiple important considerations: the rapidity of unavoidable changes to the software (network layers and applications), the difficulty of modeling the critical, implementation-dependent behavioral effects, the need to sustain larger scale scenarios, and the desire for faster simulations. Here we present our approach in success-fully reconciling them using a virtual time-synchronized virtual machine(VM)-based parallel ex-ecution framework that accurately lifts both the devices as well as the network communications to a virtual time plane while retaining full fidelity. At themore » core of our framework is a scheduling engine that operates at the level of a hypervisor scheduler, offering a unique ability to execute multi-core guest nodes over multi-core host nodes in an accurate, virtual time-synchronized manner. In contrast to other related approaches that suffer from either speed or accuracy issues, our framework provides MANET node-wise scalability, high fidelity of software behaviors, and time-ordering accuracy. The design and development of this framework is presented, and an ac-tual implementation based on the widely used Xen hypervisor system is described. Benchmarks with synthetic and actual applications are used to identify the benefits of our approach. The time inaccuracy of traditional emulation methods is demonstrated, in comparison with the accurate execution of our framework verified by theoretically correct results expected from analytical models of the same scenarios. In the largest high fidelity tests, we are able to perform virtual time-synchronized simulation of 64-node VM-based full-stack, actual software behaviors of MANETs containing a mix of static and mobile (unmanned airborne vehicle) nodes, hosted on a 32-core host, with full fidelity of unmodified ad-hoc routing protocols, unmodified

  11. Use of synthesized data to support complex ad-hoc queries in an enterprise information warehouse: a diabetes use case.

    PubMed

    Rogers, Patrick; Erdal, Selnur; Santangelo, Jennifer; Liu, Jianhua; Schuster, Dara; Kamal, Jyoti

    2008-11-06

    The Ohio State University Medical Center (OSUMC) Information Warehouse (IW) is a comprehensive data warehousing facility incorporating operational, clinical, and biological data sets from multiple enterprise system. It is common for users of the IW to request complex ad-hoc queries that often require significant intervention by data analyst. In response to this challenge, we have designed a workflow that leverages synthesized data elements to support such queries in an more timely, efficient manner.

  12. Modern foreign language teachers - don't leave those kids alone! Linguistic-cultural "give and take" in an ad-hoc tutoring scheme

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Leroy, Norah

    2017-08-01

    This paper addresses the theme of social inclusion through language learning. The focus is on an ad-hoc tutoring scheme set up between newly arrived British migrant pupils and French monolingual pupils in a small secondary school in the south-west of France. Though the original objective of this tutoring scheme was to improve the English skills of the younger pupils, feedback reports indicated that it also had a positive impact on the relationship between the British migrant pupils and their French peers. Teachers believed that those involved participated more fully in class, and appeared more self-assured and generally happy thanks to the interpersonal relationships this scheme helped to forge. This study demonstrates the necessity of analysing the socio-cultural context migrants may find themselves in, in order to identify potential challenges. The ad-hoc tutoring scheme described here is an example of how language learning can support the integration and inclusion of "new generation" migrants into everyday school life.

  13. Cost-of-living indexes and demographic change.

    PubMed

    Diamond, C A

    1990-06-01

    The Consumer Price Index (CPI), although not without problems, is the most often used mechanism for adjusting contracts for cost-of-living changes in the US. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics lists several problems associated with using the CPI as a cost-of-living index where the proportion of 2-worker families is increasing, population is shifting, and work week hours are changing. This study shows how to compute cost-of-living indexes which are inexpensive to update, use less restrictive assumptions about consumer preferences, do not require statistical estimation, and handle the problem of increasing numbers of families where both the husband and wife work. This study attempts to how widely in fact the CPI varies with alternative true cost-of-living varies with alternative true cost-of-living indexes although in the end this de facto cost-of-living measure holds up quite well. In times of severe price inflation people change their preferences by substitution, necessitating a flexible cost-of-living index that accounts for this fundamental economic behavior.

  14. On mobile wireless ad hoc IP video transports

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kazantzidis, Matheos

    2006-05-01

    Multimedia transports in wireless, ad-hoc, multi-hop or mobile networks must be capable of obtaining information about the network and adaptively tune sending and encoding parameters to the network response. Obtaining meaningful metrics to guide a stable congestion control mechanism in the transport (i.e. passive, simple, end-to-end and network technology independent) is a complex problem. Equally difficult is obtaining a reliable QoS metrics that agrees with user perception in a client/server or distributed environment. Existing metrics, objective or subjective, are commonly used after or before to test or report on a transmission and require access to both original and transmitted frames. In this paper, we propose that an efficient and successful video delivery and the optimization of overall network QoS requires innovation in a) a direct measurement of available and bottleneck capacity for its congestion control and b) a meaningful subjective QoS metric that is dynamically reported to video sender. Once these are in place, a binomial -stable, fair and TCP friendly- algorithm can be used to determine the sending rate and other packet video parameters. An adaptive mpeg codec can then continually test and fit its parameters and temporal-spatial data-error control balance using the perceived QoS dynamic feedback. We suggest a new measurement based on a packet dispersion technique that is independent of underlying network mechanisms. We then present a binomial control based on direct measurements. We implement a QoS metric that is known to agree with user perception (MPQM) in a client/server, distributed environment by using predetermined table lookups and characterization of video content.

  15. Performance Improvement in Geographic Routing for Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks

    PubMed Central

    Kaiwartya, Omprakash; Kumar, Sushil; Lobiyal, D. K.; Abdullah, Abdul Hanan; Hassan, Ahmed Nazar

    2014-01-01

    Geographic routing is one of the most investigated themes by researchers for reliable and efficient dissemination of information in Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs). Recently, different Geographic Distance Routing (GEDIR) protocols have been suggested in the literature. These protocols focus on reducing the forwarding region towards destination to select the Next Hop Vehicles (NHV). Most of these protocols suffer from the problem of elevated one-hop link disconnection, high end-to-end delay and low throughput even at normal vehicle speed in high vehicle density environment. This paper proposes a Geographic Distance Routing protocol based on Segment vehicle, Link quality and Degree of connectivity (SLD-GEDIR). The protocol selects a reliable NHV using the criteria segment vehicles, one-hop link quality and degree of connectivity. The proposed protocol has been simulated in NS-2 and its performance has been compared with the state-of-the-art protocols: P-GEDIR, J-GEDIR and V-GEDIR. The empirical results clearly reveal that SLD-GEDIR has lower link disconnection and end-to-end delay, and higher throughput as compared to the state-of-the-art protocols. It should be noted that the performance of the proposed protocol is preserved irrespective of vehicle density and speed. PMID:25429415

  16. Performance improvement in geographic routing for Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks.

    PubMed

    Kaiwartya, Omprakash; Kumar, Sushil; Lobiyal, D K; Abdullah, Abdul Hanan; Hassan, Ahmed Nazar

    2014-11-25

    Geographic routing is one of the most investigated themes by researchers for reliable and efficient dissemination of information in Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs). Recently, different Geographic Distance Routing (GEDIR) protocols have been suggested in the literature. These protocols focus on reducing the forwarding region towards destination to select the Next Hop Vehicles (NHV). Most of these protocols suffer from the problem of elevated one-hop link disconnection, high end-to-end delay and low throughput even at normal vehicle speed in high vehicle density environment. This paper proposes a Geographic Distance Routing protocol based on Segment vehicle, Link quality and Degree of connectivity (SLD-GEDIR). The protocol selects a reliable NHV using the criteria segment vehicles, one-hop link quality and degree of connectivity. The proposed protocol has been simulated in NS-2 and its performance has been compared with the state-of-the-art protocols: P-GEDIR, J-GEDIR and V-GEDIR. The empirical results clearly reveal that SLD-GEDIR has lower link disconnection and end-to-end delay, and higher throughput as compared to the state-of-the-art protocols. It should be noted that the performance of the proposed protocol is preserved irrespective of vehicle density and speed.

  17. Hierarchical auto-configuration addressing in mobile ad hoc networks (HAAM)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ram Srikumar, P.; Sumathy, S.

    2017-11-01

    Addressing plays a vital role in networking to identify devices uniquely. A device must be assigned with a unique address in order to participate in the data communication in any network. Different protocols defining different types of addressing are proposed in literature. Address auto-configuration is a key requirement for self organizing networks. Existing auto-configuration based addressing protocols require broadcasting probes to all the nodes in the network before assigning a proper address to a new node. This needs further broadcasts to reflect the status of the acquired address in the network. Such methods incur high communication overheads due to repetitive flooding. To address this overhead, a new partially stateful address allocation scheme, namely Hierarchical Auto-configuration Addressing (HAAM) scheme is extended and proposed. Hierarchical addressing basically reduces latency and overhead caused during address configuration. Partially stateful addressing algorithm assigns addresses without the need for flooding and global state awareness, which in turn reduces the communication overhead and space complexity respectively. Nodes are assigned addresses hierarchically to maintain the graph of the network as a spanning tree which helps in effectively avoiding the broadcast storm problem. Proposed algorithm for HAAM handles network splits and merges efficiently in large scale mobile ad hoc networks incurring low communication overheads.

  18. Moderation of the Relation of County-Level Cost of Living to Nutrition by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

    PubMed Central

    Wimer, Christopher; Seligman, Hilary

    2016-01-01

    Objectives. To examine the association of county-level cost of living with nutrition among low-income Americans. Methods. We used the National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey (2012–2013; n = 14 313; including 5414 persons in households participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program [SNAP]) to examine associations between county-level cost-of-living metrics and both food acquisitions and the Healthy Eating Index, with control for individual-, household-, and county-level covariates and accounting for unmeasured confounders influencing both area of living and food acquisition. Results. Living in a higher-cost county—particularly one with high rent costs—was associated with significantly lower volume of acquired vegetables, fruits, and whole grains; greater volume of acquired refined grains, fats and oils, and added sugars; and an 11% lower Healthy Eating Index score. Participation in SNAP was associated with nutritional improvements among persons living in higher-cost counties. Conclusions. Living in a higher-cost county (particularly with high rent costs) is associated with poorer nutrition among low-income Americans, and SNAP may mitigate the negative nutritional impact of high cost of living. PMID:27631742

  19. Baby Budgeting: Oocyte Cryopreservation in Women Delaying Reproduction Can Reduce Cost per Live Birth

    PubMed Central

    Devine, Kate; Mumford, Sunni L.; Goldman, Kara N.; Hodes-Wertz, Brooke; Druckenmiller, Sarah; Propst, Anthony M.; Noyes, Nicole

    2015-01-01

    Objective To determine whether oocyte cryopreservation (OC) for deferred reproduction is cost-effective per live birth using a model constructed from observed clinical practice. Design Decision-tree mathematical model with sensitivity analyses. Setting Not applicable. Patients A simulated cohort of women wishing to delay childbearing until age 40 years. Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measure Cost per live birth. Results Our primary model predicted that OC at age 35 years by women planning to defer pregnancy attempts until age 40 would decrease cost per live birth to $39,946 (and increase odds of live birth to 62% by the end of the model),indicating OC to be a cost-effective strategy relative to forgoing OC, which was associated with a predicted cost per live birth of $55,060 (and 42% chance of live birth). If fresh autologous ART was added at age 40 prior to thawing oocytes, 74% obtained a live birth, though at an increased cost of $61,887. Separate sensitivity analyses demonstrated that OC remained cost-effective so long as patients underwent OC prior to age 38, more than 49% of those not obtaining a spontaneously conceived live birth returned to thaw oocytes, and likelihood of obtaining a spontaneously conceived live birth after six months’ attempts at age 40 was less than 35%. Conclusions In women who plan to delay childbearing until age 40, oocyte cryopreservation before 38 years of age reduces the cost to obtain a live birth. PMID:25813281

  20. Design and Analysis of A Beacon-Less Routing Protocol for Large Volume Content Dissemination in Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks.

    PubMed

    Hu, Miao; Zhong, Zhangdui; Ni, Minming; Baiocchi, Andrea

    2016-11-01

    Large volume content dissemination is pursued by the growing number of high quality applications for Vehicular Ad hoc NETworks(VANETs), e.g., the live road surveillance service and the video-based overtaking assistant service. For the highly dynamical vehicular network topology, beacon-less routing protocols have been proven to be efficient in achieving a balance between the system performance and the control overhead. However, to the authors' best knowledge, the routing design for large volume content has not been well considered in the previous work, which will introduce new challenges, e.g., the enhanced connectivity requirement for a radio link. In this paper, a link Lifetime-aware Beacon-less Routing Protocol (LBRP) is designed for large volume content delivery in VANETs. Each vehicle makes the forwarding decision based on the message header information and its current state, including the speed and position information. A semi-Markov process analytical model is proposed to evaluate the expected delay in constructing one routing path for LBRP. Simulations show that the proposed LBRP scheme outperforms the traditional dissemination protocols in providing a low end-to-end delay. The analytical model is shown to exhibit a good match on the delay estimation with Monte Carlo simulations, as well.

  1. Design and Analysis of A Beacon-Less Routing Protocol for Large Volume Content Dissemination in Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks

    PubMed Central

    Hu, Miao; Zhong, Zhangdui; Ni, Minming; Baiocchi, Andrea

    2016-01-01

    Large volume content dissemination is pursued by the growing number of high quality applications for Vehicular Ad hoc NETworks(VANETs), e.g., the live road surveillance service and the video-based overtaking assistant service. For the highly dynamical vehicular network topology, beacon-less routing protocols have been proven to be efficient in achieving a balance between the system performance and the control overhead. However, to the authors’ best knowledge, the routing design for large volume content has not been well considered in the previous work, which will introduce new challenges, e.g., the enhanced connectivity requirement for a radio link. In this paper, a link Lifetime-aware Beacon-less Routing Protocol (LBRP) is designed for large volume content delivery in VANETs. Each vehicle makes the forwarding decision based on the message header information and its current state, including the speed and position information. A semi-Markov process analytical model is proposed to evaluate the expected delay in constructing one routing path for LBRP. Simulations show that the proposed LBRP scheme outperforms the traditional dissemination protocols in providing a low end-to-end delay. The analytical model is shown to exhibit a good match on the delay estimation with Monte Carlo simulations, as well. PMID:27809285

  2. 20 CFR 404.275 - How is an automatic cost-of-living increase calculated?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... calculated? 404.275 Section 404.275 Employees' Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION FEDERAL OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS AND DISABILITY INSURANCE (1950- ) Computing Primary Insurance Amounts Cost-Of-Living Increases... compute the average of the CPI for the quarters that begin and end the measuring period by adding the...

  3. Modern Foreign Language Teachers--Don't Leave Those Kids Alone! Linguistic-Cultural "Give and Take" in an Ad-Hoc Tutoring Scheme

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Leroy, Norah

    2017-01-01

    This paper addresses the theme of social inclusion through language learning. The focus is on an ad-hoc tutoring scheme set up between newly arrived British migrant pupils and French monolingual pupils in a small secondary school in the south-west of France. Though the original objective of this tutoring scheme was to improve the English skills of…

  4. Road Accident Prevention with Instant Emergency Warning Message Dissemination in Vehicular Ad-Hoc Network.

    PubMed

    Gokulakrishnan, P; Ganeshkumar, P

    2015-01-01

    A Road Accident Prevention (RAP) scheme based on Vehicular Backbone Network (VBN) structure is proposed in this paper for Vehicular Ad-hoc Network (VANET). The RAP scheme attempts to prevent vehicles from highway road traffic accidents and thereby reduces death and injury rates. Once the possibility of an emergency situation (i.e. an accident) is predicted in advance, instantly RAP initiates a highway road traffic accident prevention scheme. The RAP scheme constitutes the following activities: (i) the Road Side Unit (RSU) constructs a Prediction Report (PR) based on the status of the vehicles and traffic in the highway roads, (ii) the RSU generates an Emergency Warning Message (EWM) based on an abnormal PR, (iii) the RSU forms a VBN structure and (iv) the RSU disseminates the EWM to the vehicles that holds the high Risk Factor (RF) and travels in High Risk Zone (HRZ). These vehicles might reside either within the RSU's coverage area or outside RSU's coverage area (reached using VBN structure). The RAP scheme improves the performance of EWM dissemination in terms of increase in notification and decrease in end-to-end delay. The RAP scheme also reduces infrastructure cost (number of RSUs) by formulating and deploying the VBN structure. The RAP scheme with VBN structure improves notification by 19 percent and end-to-end delay by 14.38 percent for a vehicle density of 160 vehicles. It is also proved from the simulation experiment that the performance of RAP scheme is promising in 4-lane highway roads.

  5. Road Accident Prevention with Instant Emergency Warning Message Dissemination in Vehicular Ad-Hoc Network

    PubMed Central

    P, Gokulakrishnan; P, Ganeshkumar

    2015-01-01

    A Road Accident Prevention (RAP) scheme based on Vehicular Backbone Network (VBN) structure is proposed in this paper for Vehicular Ad-hoc Network (VANET). The RAP scheme attempts to prevent vehicles from highway road traffic accidents and thereby reduces death and injury rates. Once the possibility of an emergency situation (i.e. an accident) is predicted in advance, instantly RAP initiates a highway road traffic accident prevention scheme. The RAP scheme constitutes the following activities: (i) the Road Side Unit (RSU) constructs a Prediction Report (PR) based on the status of the vehicles and traffic in the highway roads, (ii) the RSU generates an Emergency Warning Message (EWM) based on an abnormal PR, (iii) the RSU forms a VBN structure and (iv) the RSU disseminates the EWM to the vehicles that holds the high Risk Factor (RF) and travels in High Risk Zone (HRZ). These vehicles might reside either within the RSU’s coverage area or outside RSU’s coverage area (reached using VBN structure). The RAP scheme improves the performance of EWM dissemination in terms of increase in notification and decrease in end-to-end delay. The RAP scheme also reduces infrastructure cost (number of RSUs) by formulating and deploying the VBN structure. The RAP scheme with VBN structure improves notification by 19 percent and end-to-end delay by 14.38 percent for a vehicle density of 160 vehicles. It is also proved from the simulation experiment that the performance of RAP scheme is promising in 4-lane highway roads. PMID:26636576

  6. Ad Hoc Influenza Vaccination During Years of Significant Antigenic Drift in a Tropical City With 2 Seasonal Peaks: A Cross-Sectional Survey Among Health Care Practitioners.

    PubMed

    Wong, Martin C S; Nelson, E Anthony S; Leung, Czarina; Lee, Nelson; Chan, Martin C W; Choi, Kin Wing; Rainer, Timothy H; Cheng, Frankie W T; Wong, Samuel Y S; Lai, Christopher K C; Lam, Bosco; Cheung, Tak Hong; Leung, Ting Fan; Chan, Paul K S

    2016-05-01

    We evaluated the acceptability of an additional ad hoc influenza vaccination among the health care professionals following seasons with significant antigenic drift.Self-administered, anonymous surveys were performed by hard copy questionnaires in public hospitals, and by an on-line platform available to all healthcare professionals, from April 1st to May 31st, 2015. A total of 1290 healthcare professionals completed the questionnaires, including doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals working in both the public and private systems.Only 31.8% of participating respondents expressed an intention to receive the additional vaccine, despite that the majority of them agreed or strongly agreed that it would bring benefit to the community (88.9%), save lives (86.7%), reduce medical expenses (76.3%), satisfy public expectation (82.8%), and increase awareness of vaccination (86.1%). However, a significant proportion expressed concern that the vaccine could disturb the normal immunization schedule (45.5%); felt uncertain what to do in the next vaccination round (66.0%); perceived that the summer peak might not occur (48.2%); and believed that the summer peak might not be of the same virus (83.5%). Furthermore, 27.8% of all respondents expected that the additional vaccination could weaken the efficacy of previous vaccinations; 51.3% was concerned about side effects; and 61.3% estimated that there would be a low uptake rate. If the supply of vaccine was limited, higher priority groups were considered to include the elderly aged ≥65 years with chronic medical conditions (89.2%), the elderly living in residential care homes (87.4%), and long-stay residents of institutions for the disabled (80.7%). The strongest factors associated with accepting the additional vaccine included immunization with influenza vaccines in the past 3 years, higher perceived risk of contracting influenza, and higher perceived severity of the disease impact.The acceptability to an additional ad

  7. Securing mobile ad hoc networks using danger theory-based artificial immune algorithm.

    PubMed

    Abdelhaq, Maha; Alsaqour, Raed; Abdelhaq, Shawkat

    2015-01-01

    A mobile ad hoc network (MANET) is a set of mobile, decentralized, and self-organizing nodes that are used in special cases, such as in the military. MANET properties render the environment of this network vulnerable to different types of attacks, including black hole, wormhole and flooding-based attacks. Flooding-based attacks are one of the most dangerous attacks that aim to consume all network resources and thus paralyze the functionality of the whole network. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to investigate the capability of a danger theory-based artificial immune algorithm called the mobile dendritic cell algorithm (MDCA) to detect flooding-based attacks in MANETs. The MDCA applies the dendritic cell algorithm (DCA) to secure the MANET with additional improvements. The MDCA is tested and validated using Qualnet v7.1 simulation tool. This work also introduces a new simulation module for a flooding attack called the resource consumption attack (RCA) using Qualnet v7.1. The results highlight the high efficiency of the MDCA in detecting RCAs in MANETs.

  8. Securing Mobile Ad Hoc Networks Using Danger Theory-Based Artificial Immune Algorithm

    PubMed Central

    2015-01-01

    A mobile ad hoc network (MANET) is a set of mobile, decentralized, and self-organizing nodes that are used in special cases, such as in the military. MANET properties render the environment of this network vulnerable to different types of attacks, including black hole, wormhole and flooding-based attacks. Flooding-based attacks are one of the most dangerous attacks that aim to consume all network resources and thus paralyze the functionality of the whole network. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to investigate the capability of a danger theory-based artificial immune algorithm called the mobile dendritic cell algorithm (MDCA) to detect flooding-based attacks in MANETs. The MDCA applies the dendritic cell algorithm (DCA) to secure the MANET with additional improvements. The MDCA is tested and validated using Qualnet v7.1 simulation tool. This work also introduces a new simulation module for a flooding attack called the resource consumption attack (RCA) using Qualnet v7.1. The results highlight the high efficiency of the MDCA in detecting RCAs in MANETs. PMID:25946001

  9. Medium Access Control Protocols for Cognitive Radio Ad Hoc Networks: A Survey

    PubMed Central

    Islam, A. K. M. Muzahidul; Baharun, Sabariah; Mansoor, Nafees

    2017-01-01

    New wireless network paradigms will demand higher spectrum use and availability to cope with emerging data-hungry devices. Traditional static spectrum allocation policies cause spectrum scarcity, and new paradigms such as Cognitive Radio (CR) and new protocols and techniques need to be developed in order to have efficient spectrum usage. Medium Access Control (MAC) protocols are accountable for recognizing free spectrum, scheduling available resources and coordinating the coexistence of heterogeneous systems and users. This paper provides an ample review of the state-of-the-art MAC protocols, which mainly focuses on Cognitive Radio Ad Hoc Networks (CRAHN). First, a description of the cognitive radio fundamental functions is presented. Next, MAC protocols are divided into three groups, which are based on their channel access mechanism, namely time-slotted protocol, random access protocol and hybrid protocol. In each group, a detailed and comprehensive explanation of the latest MAC protocols is presented, as well as the pros and cons of each protocol. A discussion on future challenges for CRAHN MAC protocols is included with a comparison of the protocols from a functional perspective. PMID:28926952

  10. 3VSR: Three Valued Secure Routing for Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks using Sensing Logic in Adversarial Environment

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Liangmin

    2018-01-01

    Today IoT integrate thousands of inter networks and sensing devices e.g., vehicular networks, which are considered to be challenging due to its high speed and network dynamics. The goal of future vehicular networks is to improve road safety, promote commercial or infotainment products and to reduce the traffic accidents. All these applications are based on the information exchange among nodes, so not only reliable data delivery but also the authenticity and credibility of the data itself are prerequisite. To cope with the aforementioned problem, trust management come up as promising candidate to conduct node’s transaction and interaction management, which requires distributed mobile nodes cooperation for achieving design goals. In this paper, we propose a trust-based routing protocol i.e., 3VSR (Three Valued Secure Routing), which extends the widely used AODV (Ad hoc On-demand Distance Vector) routing protocol and employs the idea of Sensing Logic-based trust model to enhance the security solution of VANET (Vehicular Ad-Hoc Network). The existing routing protocol are mostly based on key or signature-based schemes, which off course increases computation overhead. In our proposed 3VSR, trust among entities is updated frequently by means of opinion derived from sensing logic due to vehicles random topologies. In 3VSR the theoretical capabilities are based on Dirichlet distribution by considering prior and posterior uncertainty of the said event. Also by using trust recommendation message exchange, nodes are able to reduce computation and routing overhead. The simulated results shows that the proposed scheme is secure and practical. PMID:29538314

  11. 3VSR: Three Valued Secure Routing for Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks using Sensing Logic in Adversarial Environment.

    PubMed

    Sohail, Muhammad; Wang, Liangmin

    2018-03-14

    Today IoT integrate thousands of inter networks and sensing devices e.g., vehicular networks, which are considered to be challenging due to its high speed and network dynamics. The goal of future vehicular networks is to improve road safety, promote commercial or infotainment products and to reduce the traffic accidents. All these applications are based on the information exchange among nodes, so not only reliable data delivery but also the authenticity and credibility of the data itself are prerequisite. To cope with the aforementioned problem, trust management come up as promising candidate to conduct node's transaction and interaction management, which requires distributed mobile nodes cooperation for achieving design goals. In this paper, we propose a trust-based routing protocol i.e., 3VSR (Three Valued Secure Routing), which extends the widely used AODV (Ad hoc On-demand Distance Vector) routing protocol and employs the idea of Sensing Logic-based trust model to enhance the security solution of VANET (Vehicular Ad-Hoc Network). The existing routing protocol are mostly based on key or signature-based schemes, which off course increases computation overhead. In our proposed 3VSR, trust among entities is updated frequently by means of opinion derived from sensing logic due to vehicles random topologies. In 3VSR the theoretical capabilities are based on Dirichlet distribution by considering prior and posterior uncertainty of the said event. Also by using trust recommendation message exchange, nodes are able to reduce computation and routing overhead. The simulated results shows that the proposed scheme is secure and practical.

  12. Ad hoc versus standardized admixtures for continuous infusion drugs in neonatal intensive care: cognitive task analysis of safety at the bedside.

    PubMed

    Brannon, Timothy S

    2006-01-01

    Continuous infusion intravenous (IV) drugs in neonatal intensive care are usually prepared based on patient weight so that the dose is readable as a simple multiple of the infusion pump rate. New safety guidelines propose that hospitals switch to using standardized admixtures of these drugs to prevent calculation errors during ad hoc preparation. Extended hierarchical task analysis suggests that switching to standardized admixtures may lead to more errors in programming the pump at the bedside.

  13. Hop Optimization and Relay Node Selection in Multi-hop Wireless Ad-Hoc Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Xiaohua(Edward)

    In this paper we propose an efficient approach to determine the optimal hops for multi-hop ad hoc wireless networks. Based on the assumption that nodes use successive interference cancellation (SIC) and maximal ratio combining (MRC) to deal with mutual interference and to utilize all the received signal energy, we show that the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) of a node is determined only by the nodes before it, not the nodes after it, along a packet forwarding path. Based on this observation, we propose an iterative procedure to select the relay nodes and to calculate the path SINR as well as capacity of an arbitrary multi-hop packet forwarding path. The complexity of the algorithm is extremely low, and scaling well with network size. The algorithm is applicable in arbitrarily large networks. Its performance is demonstrated as desirable by simulations. The algorithm can be helpful in analyzing the performance of multi-hop wireless networks.

  14. Real-Time Support on IEEE 802.11 Wireless Ad-Hoc Networks: Reality vs. Theory

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kang, Mikyung; Kang, Dong-In; Suh, Jinwoo

    The usable throughput of an IEEE 802.11 system for an application is much less than the raw bandwidth. Although 802.11b has a theoretical maximum of 11Mbps, more than half of the bandwidth is consumed by overhead leaving at most 5Mbps of usable bandwidth. Considering this characteristic, this paper proposes and analyzes a real-time distributed scheduling scheme based on the existing IEEE 802.11 wireless ad-hoc networks, using USC/ISI's Power Aware Sensing Tracking and Analysis (PASTA) hardware platform. We compared the distributed real-time scheduling scheme with the real-time polling scheme to meet deadline, and compared a measured real bandwidth with a theoretical result. The theoretical and experimental results show that the distributed scheduling scheme can guarantee real-time traffic and enhances the performance up to 74% compared with polling scheme.

  15. Ad Hoc versus Standardized Admixtures for Continuous Infusion Drugs in Neonatal Intensive Care: Cognitive Task Analysis of Safety at the Bedside

    PubMed Central

    Brannon, Timothy S.

    2006-01-01

    Continuous infusion intravenous (IV) drugs in neonatal intensive care are usually prepared based on patient weight so that the dose is readable as a simple multiple of the infusion pump rate. New safety guidelines propose that hospitals switch to using standardized admixtures of these drugs to prevent calculation errors during ad hoc preparation. Extended hierarchical task analysis suggests that switching to standardized admixtures may lead to more errors in programming the pump at the bedside. PMID:17238482

  16. Non-ad-hoc decision rule for the Dempster-Shafer method of evidential reasoning

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cheaito, Ali; Lecours, Michael; Bosse, Eloi

    1998-03-01

    This paper is concerned with the fusion of identity information through the use of statistical analysis rooted in Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence to provide automatic identification aboard a platform. An identity information process for a baseline Multi-Source Data Fusion (MSDF) system is defined. The MSDF system is applied to information sources which include a number of radars, IFF systems, an ESM system, and a remote track source. We use a comprehensive Platform Data Base (PDB) containing all the possible identity values that the potential target may take, and we use the fuzzy logic strategies which enable the fusion of subjective attribute information from sensor and the PDB to make the derivation of target identity more quickly, more precisely, and with statistically quantifiable measures of confidence. The conventional Dempster-Shafer lacks a formal basis upon which decision can be made in the face of ambiguity. We define a non-ad hoc decision rule based on the expected utility interval for pruning the `unessential' propositions which would otherwise overload the real-time data fusion systems. An example has been selected to demonstrate the implementation of our modified Dempster-Shafer method of evidential reasoning.

  17. 20 CFR 404.270 - Cost-of-living increases.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Cost-of-living increases. 404.270 Section 404.270 Employees' Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION FEDERAL OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS AND DISABILITY INSURANCE (1950- ) Computing Primary Insurance Amounts Cost-Of-Living Increases § 404.270 Cost-of-living...

  18. Post Hoc Analyses of ApoE Genotype-Defined Subgroups in Clinical Trials.

    PubMed

    Kennedy, Richard E; Cutter, Gary R; Wang, Guoqiao; Schneider, Lon S

    2016-01-01

    Many post hoc analyses of clinical trials in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are in small Phase 2 trials. Subject heterogeneity may lead to statistically significant post hoc results that cannot be replicated in larger follow-up studies. We investigated the extent of this problem using simulation studies mimicking current trial methods with post hoc analyses based on ApoE4 carrier status. We used a meta-database of 24 studies, including 3,574 subjects with mild AD and 1,171 subjects with MCI/prodromal AD, to simulate clinical trial scenarios. Post hoc analyses examined if rates of progression on the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive (ADAS-cog) differed between ApoE4 carriers and non-carriers. Across studies, ApoE4 carriers were younger and had lower baseline scores, greater rates of progression, and greater variability on the ADAS-cog. Up to 18% of post hoc analyses for 18-month trials in AD showed greater rates of progression for ApoE4 non-carriers that were statistically significant but unlikely to be confirmed in follow-up studies. The frequency of erroneous conclusions dropped below 3% with trials of 100 subjects per arm. In MCI, rates of statistically significant differences with greater progression in ApoE4 non-carriers remained below 3% unless sample sizes were below 25 subjects per arm. Statistically significant differences for ApoE4 in post hoc analyses often reflect heterogeneity among small samples rather than true differential effect among ApoE4 subtypes. Such analyses must be viewed cautiously. ApoE genotype should be incorporated into the design stage to minimize erroneous conclusions.

  19. Adaptive Control Parameters for Dispersal of Multi-Agent Mobile Ad Hoc Network (MANET) Swarms

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kurt Derr; Milos Manic

    A mobile ad hoc network is a collection of independent nodes that communicate wirelessly with one another. This paper investigates nodes that are swarm robots with communications and sensing capabilities. Each robot in the swarm may operate in a distributed and decentralized manner to achieve some goal. This paper presents a novel approach to dynamically adapting control parameters to achieve mesh configuration stability. The presented approach to robot interaction is based on spring force laws (attraction and repulsion laws) to create near-optimal mesh like configurations. In prior work, we presented the extended virtual spring mesh (EVSM) algorithm for the dispersionmore » of robot swarms. This paper extends the EVSM framework by providing the first known study on the effects of adaptive versus static control parameters on robot swarm stability. The EVSM algorithm provides the following novelties: 1) improved performance with adaptive control parameters and 2) accelerated convergence with high formation effectiveness. Simulation results show that 120 robots reach convergence using adaptive control parameters more than twice as fast as with static control parameters in a multiple obstacle environment.« less

  20. A communication theoretical analysis of FRET-based mobile ad hoc molecular nanonetworks.

    PubMed

    Kuscu, Murat; Akan, Ozgur B

    2014-09-01

    Nanonetworks refer to a group of nanosized machines with very basic operational capabilities communicating to each other in order to accomplish more complex tasks such as in-body drug delivery, or chemical defense. Realizing reliable and high-rate communication between these nanomachines is a fundamental problem for the practicality of these nanonetworks. Recently, we have proposed a molecular communication method based on Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) which is a nonradiative excited state energy transfer phenomenon observed among fluorescent molecules, i.e., fluorophores. We have modeled the FRET-based communication channel considering the fluorophores as single-molecular immobile nanomachines, and shown its reliability at high rates, and practicality at the current stage of nanotechnology. In this study, for the first time in the literature, we investigate the network of mobile nanomachines communicating through FRET. We introduce two novel mobile molecular nanonetworks: FRET-based mobile molecular sensor/actor nanonetwork (FRET-MSAN) which is a distributed system of mobile fluorophores acting as sensor or actor node; and FRET-based mobile ad hoc molecular nanonetwork (FRET-MAMNET) which consists of fluorophore-based nanotransmitter, nanoreceivers and nanorelays. We model the single message propagation based on birth-death processes with continuous time Markov chains. We evaluate the performance of FRET-MSAN and FRET-MAMNET in terms of successful transmission probability and mean extinction time of the messages, system throughput, channel capacity and achievable communication rates.

  1. On using multiple routing metrics with destination sequenced distance vector protocol for MultiHop wireless ad hoc networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mehic, M.; Fazio, P.; Voznak, M.; Partila, P.; Komosny, D.; Tovarek, J.; Chmelikova, Z.

    2016-05-01

    A mobile ad hoc network is a collection of mobile nodes which communicate without a fixed backbone or centralized infrastructure. Due to the frequent mobility of nodes, routes connecting two distant nodes may change. Therefore, it is not possible to establish a priori fixed paths for message delivery through the network. Because of its importance, routing is the most studied problem in mobile ad hoc networks. In addition, if the Quality of Service (QoS) is demanded, one must guarantee the QoS not only over a single hop but over an entire wireless multi-hop path which may not be a trivial task. In turns, this requires the propagation of QoS information within the network. The key to the support of QoS reporting is QoS routing, which provides path QoS information at each source. To support QoS for real-time traffic one needs to know not only minimum delay on the path to the destination but also the bandwidth available on it. Therefore, throughput, end-to-end delay, and routing overhead are traditional performance metrics used to evaluate the performance of routing protocol. To obtain additional information about the link, most of quality-link metrics are based on calculation of the lost probabilities of links by broadcasting probe packets. In this paper, we address the problem of including multiple routing metrics in existing routing packets that are broadcasted through the network. We evaluate the efficiency of such approach with modified version of DSDV routing protocols in ns-3 simulator.

  2. A User Authentication Scheme Based on Elliptic Curves Cryptography for Wireless Ad Hoc Networks

    PubMed Central

    Chen, Huifang; Ge, Linlin; Xie, Lei

    2015-01-01

    The feature of non-infrastructure support in a wireless ad hoc network (WANET) makes it suffer from various attacks. Moreover, user authentication is the first safety barrier in a network. A mutual trust is achieved by a protocol which enables communicating parties to authenticate each other at the same time and to exchange session keys. For the resource-constrained WANET, an efficient and lightweight user authentication scheme is necessary. In this paper, we propose a user authentication scheme based on the self-certified public key system and elliptic curves cryptography for a WANET. Using the proposed scheme, an efficient two-way user authentication and secure session key agreement can be achieved. Security analysis shows that our proposed scheme is resilient to common known attacks. In addition, the performance analysis shows that our proposed scheme performs similar or better compared with some existing user authentication schemes. PMID:26184224

  3. A User Authentication Scheme Based on Elliptic Curves Cryptography for Wireless Ad Hoc Networks.

    PubMed

    Chen, Huifang; Ge, Linlin; Xie, Lei

    2015-07-14

    The feature of non-infrastructure support in a wireless ad hoc network (WANET) makes it suffer from various attacks. Moreover, user authentication is the first safety barrier in a network. A mutual trust is achieved by a protocol which enables communicating parties to authenticate each other at the same time and to exchange session keys. For the resource-constrained WANET, an efficient and lightweight user authentication scheme is necessary. In this paper, we propose a user authentication scheme based on the self-certified public key system and elliptic curves cryptography for a WANET. Using the proposed scheme, an efficient two-way user authentication and secure session key agreement can be achieved. Security analysis shows that our proposed scheme is resilient to common known attacks. In addition, the performance analysis shows that our proposed scheme performs similar or better compared with some existing user authentication schemes.

  4. Pseudo-random dynamic address configuration (PRDAC) algorithm for mobile ad hoc networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Shaochuan; Tan, Xuezhi

    2007-11-01

    By analyzing all kinds of address configuration algorithms, this paper provides a new pseudo-random dynamic address configuration (PRDAC) algorithm for mobile ad hoc networks. Based on PRDAC, the first node that initials this network randomly chooses a nonlinear shift register that can generates an m-sequence. When another node joins this network, the initial node will act as an IP address configuration sever to compute an IP address according to this nonlinear shift register, and then allocates this address and tell the generator polynomial of this shift register to this new node. By this means, when other node joins this network, any node that has obtained an IP address can act as a server to allocate address to this new node. PRDAC can also efficiently avoid IP conflicts and deal with network partition and merge as same as prophet address (PA) allocation and dynamic configuration and distribution protocol (DCDP). Furthermore, PRDAC has less algorithm complexity, less computational complexity and more sufficient assumption than PA. In addition, PRDAC radically avoids address conflicts and maximizes the utilization rate of IP addresses. Analysis and simulation results show that PRDAC has rapid convergence, low overhead and immune from topological structures.

  5. Optimal route discovery for soft QOS provisioning in mobile ad hoc multimedia networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huang, Lei; Pan, Feng

    2007-09-01

    In this paper, we propose an optimal routing discovery algorithm for ad hoc multimedia networks whose resource keeps changing, First, we use stochastic models to measure the network resource availability, based on the information about the location and moving pattern of the nodes, as well as the link conditions between neighboring nodes. Then, for a certain multimedia packet flow to be transmitted from a source to a destination, we formulate the optimal soft-QoS provisioning problem as to find the best route that maximize the probability of satisfying its desired QoS requirements in terms of the maximum delay constraints. Based on the stochastic network resource model, we developed three approaches to solve the formulated problem: A centralized approach serving as the theoretical reference, a distributed approach that is more suitable to practical real-time deployment, and a distributed dynamic approach that utilizes the updated time information to optimize the routing for each individual packet. Examples of numerical results demonstrated that using the route discovered by our distributed algorithm in a changing network environment, multimedia applications could achieve better QoS statistically.

  6. A DNA-Inspired Encryption Methodology for Secure, Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Shaw, Harry

    2012-01-01

    Users are pushing for greater physical mobility with their network and Internet access. Mobile ad hoc networks (MANET) can provide an efficient mobile network architecture, but security is a key concern. A figure summarizes differences in the state of network security for MANET and fixed networks. MANETs require the ability to distinguish trusted peers, and tolerate the ingress/egress of nodes on an unscheduled basis. Because the networks by their very nature are mobile and self-organizing, use of a Public Key Infra structure (PKI), X.509 certificates, RSA, and nonce ex changes becomes problematic if the ideal of MANET is to be achieved. Molecular biology models such as DNA evolution can provide a basis for a proprietary security architecture that achieves high degrees of diffusion and confusion, and resistance to cryptanalysis. A proprietary encryption mechanism was developed that uses the principles of DNA replication and steganography (hidden word cryptography) for confidentiality and authentication. The foundation of the approach includes organization of coded words and messages using base pairs organized into genes, an expandable genome consisting of DNA-based chromosome keys, and a DNA-based message encoding, replication, and evolution and fitness. In evolutionary computing, a fitness algorithm determines whether candidate solutions, in this case encrypted messages, are sufficiently encrypted to be transmitted. The technology provides a mechanism for confidential electronic traffic over a MANET without a PKI for authenticating users.

  7. Energy-efficient algorithm for broadcasting in ad hoc wireless sensor networks.

    PubMed

    Xiong, Naixue; Huang, Xingbo; Cheng, Hongju; Wan, Zheng

    2013-04-12

    Broadcasting is a common and basic operation used to support various network protocols in wireless networks. To achieve energy-efficient broadcasting is especially important for ad hoc wireless sensor networks because sensors are generally powered by batteries with limited lifetimes. Energy consumption for broadcast operations can be reduced by minimizing the number of relay nodes based on the observation that data transmission processes consume more energy than data reception processes in the sensor nodes, and how to improve the network lifetime is always an interesting issue in sensor network research. The minimum-energy broadcast problem is then equivalent to the problem of finding the minimum Connected Dominating Set (CDS) for a connected graph that is proved NP-complete. In this paper, we introduce an Efficient Minimum CDS algorithm (EMCDS) with help of a proposed ordered sequence list. EMCDS does not concern itself with node energy and broadcast operations might fail if relay nodes are out of energy. Next we have proposed a Minimum Energy-consumption Broadcast Scheme (MEBS) with a modified version of EMCDS, and aimed at providing an efficient scheduling scheme with maximized network lifetime. The simulation results show that the proposed EMCDS algorithm can find smaller CDS compared with related works, and the MEBS can help to increase the network lifetime by efficiently balancing energy among nodes in the networks.

  8. Report of the APS Ad-Hoc Committee on LGBT Issues - Presentation of Findings and Recommendations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Falk, Michael

    In 2014 the Executive Officer of the American Physical Society (APS), Kate Kirby, created an Ad-Hoc Committee on LGBT Issues (C-LGBT) charged with reporting on the obstacles to inclusion of LGBT physicists, a term which for the purpose of this report refers to persons who self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, or asexual, as well as other sexual and gender minorities. The full charge was as follows: ``The committee will advise the APS on the current status of LGBT issues in physics, provide recommendations for greater inclusion, and engage physicists in laying the foundation for a more inclusive physics community. ?More specifically, the committee will investigate LGBT representation in physics, assess the educational and professional climate in physics, recommend changes in policies and practices that impact LGBT physicists, and address other issues that affect inclusion.'' We will present the findings and recommendations of the C-LGBT final report, and a panel discussion will be held following the presentation to discuss the future of APS efforts toward LGBT inclusion in physics.

  9. Report of the APS Ad-Hoc Committee on LGBT Issues - Presentation of Findings and Recommendations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Long, Elena

    2016-03-01

    In 2014 the Executive Officer of the American Physical Society (APS), Kate Kirby, created an Ad-Hoc Committee on LGBT Issues (C-LGBT) charged with reporting on the obstacles to inclusion of LGBT physicists, a term which for the purpose of this report refers to persons who self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, or asexual, as well as other sexual and gender minorities. The full charge was as follows: ``The committee will advise the APS on the current status of LGBT issues in physics, provide recommendations for greater inclusion, and engage physicists in laying the foundation for a more inclusive physics community? More specifically, the committee will investigate LGBT representation in physics, assess the educational and professional climate in physics, recommend changes in policies and practices that impact LGBT physicists, and address other issues that affect inclusion.'' We will present the findings and recommendations of the C-LGBT final report, and a panel discussion will be held following the presentation to discuss the future of APS efforts toward LGBT inclusion in physics.

  10. Verifying Safety Messages Using Relative-Time and Zone Priority in Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks.

    PubMed

    Banani, Sam; Gordon, Steven; Thiemjarus, Surapa; Kittipiyakul, Somsak

    2018-04-13

    In high-density road networks, with each vehicle broadcasting multiple messages per second, the arrival rate of safety messages can easily exceed the rate at which digital signatures can be verified. Since not all messages can be verified, algorithms for selecting which messages to verify are required to ensure that each vehicle receives appropriate awareness about neighbouring vehicles. This paper presents a novel scheme to select important safety messages for verification in vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs). The proposed scheme uses location and direction of the sender, as well as proximity and relative-time between vehicles, to reduce the number of irrelevant messages verified (i.e., messages from vehicles that are unlikely to cause an accident). Compared with other existing schemes, the analysis results show that the proposed scheme can verify messages from nearby vehicles with lower inter-message delay and reduced packet loss and thus provides high level of awareness of the nearby vehicles.

  11. Verifying Safety Messages Using Relative-Time and Zone Priority in Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks

    PubMed Central

    Banani, Sam; Thiemjarus, Surapa; Kittipiyakul, Somsak

    2018-01-01

    In high-density road networks, with each vehicle broadcasting multiple messages per second, the arrival rate of safety messages can easily exceed the rate at which digital signatures can be verified. Since not all messages can be verified, algorithms for selecting which messages to verify are required to ensure that each vehicle receives appropriate awareness about neighbouring vehicles. This paper presents a novel scheme to select important safety messages for verification in vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs). The proposed scheme uses location and direction of the sender, as well as proximity and relative-time between vehicles, to reduce the number of irrelevant messages verified (i.e., messages from vehicles that are unlikely to cause an accident). Compared with other existing schemes, the analysis results show that the proposed scheme can verify messages from nearby vehicles with lower inter-message delay and reduced packet loss and thus provides high level of awareness of the nearby vehicles. PMID:29652840

  12. An Energy-Efficient and Robust Multipath Routing Protocol for Cognitive Radio Ad Hoc Networks.

    PubMed

    Singh, Kishor; Moh, Sangman

    2017-09-04

    Routing in cognitive radio ad hoc networks (CRAHNs) is a daunting task owing to dynamic topology, intermittent connectivity, spectrum heterogeneity, and energy constraints. Other prominent aspects such as channel stability, path reliability, and route discovery frequency should also be exploited. Several routing protocols have been proposed for CRAHNs in the literature. By stressing on one of the aspects more than any other, however, they do not satisfy all requirements of throughput, energy efficiency, and robustness. In this paper, we propose an energy-efficient and robust multipath routing (ERMR) protocol for CRAHNs by considering all prominent aspects including residual energy and channel stability in design. Even when the current routing path fails, the alternative routing path is immediately utilized. In establishing primary and alternative routing paths, both residual energy and channel stability are exploited simultaneously. Our simulation study shows that the proposed ERMR outperforms the conventional protocol in terms of network throughput, packet delivery ratio, energy consumption, and end-to-end delay.

  13. An Energy-Efficient and Robust Multipath Routing Protocol for Cognitive Radio Ad Hoc Networks

    PubMed Central

    Singh, Kishor

    2017-01-01

    Routing in cognitive radio ad hoc networks (CRAHNs) is a daunting task owing to dynamic topology, intermittent connectivity, spectrum heterogeneity, and energy constraints. Other prominent aspects such as channel stability, path reliability, and route discovery frequency should also be exploited. Several routing protocols have been proposed for CRAHNs in the literature. By stressing on one of the aspects more than any other, however, they do not satisfy all requirements of throughput, energy efficiency, and robustness. In this paper, we propose an energy-efficient and robust multipath routing (ERMR) protocol for CRAHNs by considering all prominent aspects including residual energy and channel stability in design. Even when the current routing path fails, the alternative routing path is immediately utilized. In establishing primary and alternative routing paths, both residual energy and channel stability are exploited simultaneously. Our simulation study shows that the proposed ERMR outperforms the conventional protocol in terms of network throughput, packet delivery ratio, energy consumption, and end-to-end delay. PMID:28869551

  14. Ad Hoc working group on diurnal and semi-diurnal Earth Orientation variation.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gipson, J. M.

    2017-12-01

    Diurnal and semi-diurnal Earth orientation ("HF-EOP") variation were detected in the early 1990s in SLR and VLBI data. Beginning in 1996 a model of HF-EOP variation based on ocean-tides derived from Topex data was included in the IERS standards. This model has not been updated since then with the exception of including libration for effects for polar motion (2003 IERS conventions) and UT1 (2010 IERS conventions). The accuracy of Space Geodesy has increased remarkably over the last 20 years and the 1996 IERS HF-EOP model is no longer adequate. At the conclusion of the 2017 GGOS/IERS Unified Analysis Workshop an ad hoc working group was formed including representatives of the IDS, IGS, ILRS, and IVS. The goal of the working group is to test several models of HF-EOP in the different space geodesy techniques and to make a recommendation to the IERS for the adoption of a new HF-EOP model. In this presentation I will give a summary of work on HF-EOP done to date by various scientists which demonstrate the inadequacy of the current IERS HF-EOP model. I will then describe the goals and the progress of the working group to date, with a preview of further work.

  15. Ad Hoc Networking for Unmanned Ground Vehicles: Design and Evaluation at Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance On-the-Move

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2006-11-01

    software components used in the ad hoc nodes for the C4ISR OTM experiment were OLSRD, an open-source proactive MANET routing software, and OpenVPN , an...developed by Mike Baker (openwrt.org). 6OpenVPN is a trademark of OpenVPN Solutions LLC. 6 Secure communications in the MANET are achieved with...encryption provided by Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) and OpenVPN . The WEP protocol, which is part of the IEEE 802.11 wireless networking standard

  16. An ultra-wide bandwidth-based range/GPS tight integration approach for relative positioning in vehicular ad hoc networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shen, Feng; Wayn Cheong, Joon; Dempster, Andrew G.

    2015-04-01

    Relative position awareness is a vital premise for the implementation of emerging intelligent transportation systems, such as collision warning. However, commercial global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) receivers do not satisfy the requirements of these applications. Fortunately, cooperative positioning (CP) techniques, through sharing the GNSS measurements between vehicles, can improve the performance of relative positioning in a vehicular ad hoc network (VANET). In this paper, while assuming there are no obstacles between vehicles, a new enhanced tightly coupled CP technique is presented by adding ultra-wide bandwidth (UWB)-based inter-vehicular range measurements. In the proposed CP method, each vehicle fuses the GPS measurements and the inter-vehicular range measurements. Based on analytical and experimental results, in the full GPS coverage environment, the new tight integration CP method outperforms the INS-aided tight CP method, tight CP method, and DGPS by 11%, 15%, and 24%, respectively; in the GPS outage scenario, the performance improvement achieves 60%, 65%, and 73%, respectively.

  17. Integration of Body Sensor Networks and Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks for Traffic Safety.

    PubMed

    Reyes-Muñoz, Angelica; Domingo, Mari Carmen; López-Trinidad, Marco Antonio; Delgado, José Luis

    2016-01-15

    The emergence of Body Sensor Networks (BSNs) constitutes a new and fast growing trend for the development of daily routine applications. However, in the case of heterogeneous BSNs integration with Vehicular ad hoc Networks (VANETs) a large number of difficulties remain, that must be solved, especially when talking about the detection of human state factors that impair the driving of motor vehicles. The main contributions of this investigation are principally three: (1) an exhaustive review of the current mechanisms to detect four basic physiological behavior states (drowsy, drunk, driving under emotional state disorders and distracted driving) that may cause traffic accidents is presented; (2) A middleware architecture is proposed. This architecture can communicate with the car dashboard, emergency services, vehicles belonging to the VANET and road or street facilities. This architecture seeks on the one hand to improve the car driving experience of the driver and on the other hand to extend security mechanisms for the surrounding individuals; and (3) as a proof of concept, an Android real-time attention low level detection application that runs in a next-generation smartphone is developed. The application features mechanisms that allow one to measure the degree of attention of a driver on the base of her/his EEG signals, establish wireless communication links via various standard wireless means, GPRS, Bluetooth and WiFi and issue alarms of critical low driver attention levels.

  18. Estimating the extra cost of living with disability in Vietnam.

    PubMed

    Minh, Hoang Van; Giang, Kim Bao; Liem, Nguyen Thanh; Palmer, Michael; Thao, Nguyen Phuong; Duong, Le Bach

    2015-01-01

    Disability is shown to be both a cause and a consequence of poverty. However, relatively little research has investigated the economic cost of living with a disability. This study reports the results of a study on the extra cost of living with disability in Vietnam in 2011. The study was carried out in eight cities/provinces in Vietnam, including Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh cities (two major metropolitan in Vietnam) and six provinces from each of the six socio-economic regions in Vietnam. Costs are estimated using the standard of living approach whereby the difference in incomes between people with disability and those without disability for a given standard of living serves as a proxy for the cost of living with disability. The extra cost of living with disability in Vietnam accounted for about 8.8-9.5% of annual household income, or valued about US$200-218. Communication difficulty was shown to result in highest additional cost of living with disability and self-care difficulty was shown to lead to the lowest levels of extra of living cost. The extra cost of living with disability increased as people had more severe impairment. Interventions to promote the economic security of livelihood for people with disabilities are needed.

  19. Costs and added value of haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis outsourcing agreements.

    PubMed

    Lamas Barreiro, J M; Alonso Suárez, M; Saavedra Alonso, J A; Gándara Martínez, A

    2011-01-01

    Despite the discrepancy in results from Spanish studies on the costs of dialysis, it is assumed that peritoneal dialysis (PD) is more efficient than haemodialysis (HD). To analyse the costs and added value of HD and PD outsourcing agreements in Galicia, the medical transport for HD and the relationship between the cost of the agreement and the cost of consumables used in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) with bicarbonate. The cost of the outsourcing agreements and the staff was obtained from official publications. The cost of PD and medical transport were calculated using health service data for one month and extrapolating it to one year. The cost of CAPD consumables was provided by the suppliers. The added value was calculated from the investments generated for each agreement treating 40 patients. Expressed as patient/year, the mean costs for treatment were €21595 and €25664 in HD and PD, respectively. Medical transport varied between €3323 and €6338, while those of the CAPD agreement and consumables were €19268 and €12057, respectively. The added value was greater with the HD agreement, especially considering the jobs created. One cannot generalise that the cost of PD, which is significantly influenced by prescriptions, is lower than that of HD. It would be appropriate to review the additional cost to consumables in the CAPD agreement. The added value generated by dialysis agreements should be considered in future studies and in health planning. More controlled studies are needed to better understand this issue.

  20. An Efficient and QoS Supported Multichannel MAC Protocol for Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks

    PubMed Central

    Tan, Guozhen; Yu, Chao

    2017-01-01

    Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs) employ multichannel to provide a variety of safety and non-safety (transport efficiency and infotainment) applications, based on the IEEE 802.11p and IEEE 1609.4 protocols. Different types of applications require different levels Quality-of-Service (QoS) support. Recently, transport efficiency and infotainment applications (e.g., electronic map download and Internet access) have received more and more attention, and this kind of applications is expected to become a big market driver in a near future. In this paper, we propose an Efficient and QoS supported Multichannel Medium Access Control (EQM-MAC) protocol for VANETs in a highway environment. The EQM-MAC protocol utilizes the service channel resources for non-safety message transmissions during the whole synchronization interval, and it dynamically adjusts minimum contention window size for different non-safety services according to the traffic conditions. Theoretical model analysis and extensive simulation results show that the EQM-MAC protocol can support QoS services, while ensuring the high saturation throughput and low transmission delay for non-safety applications. PMID:28991217

  1. Cost study of solar cell space power systems.

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bernatowicz, D. T.

    1972-01-01

    A study of historical costs for solar cell space power systems was made by a NASA ad hoc study group. The study covered thirteen missions that represented a broad cross-section of flight projects over the past decade. Fully burdened costs in terms of 1971 dollars are presented for the system and the solar array. The costs correlate reasonably well with array area and do not increase in proportion to array area. The trends for array costs support the contention that solar cell and module standardization would reduce costs.

  2. Data Delivery Method Based on Neighbor Nodes' Information in a Mobile Ad Hoc Network

    PubMed Central

    Hayashi, Takuma; Taenaka, Yuzo; Okuda, Takeshi; Yamaguchi, Suguru

    2014-01-01

    This paper proposes a data delivery method based on neighbor nodes' information to achieve reliable communication in a mobile ad hoc network (MANET). In a MANET, it is difficult to deliver data reliably due to instabilities in network topology and wireless network condition which result from node movement. To overcome such unstable communication, opportunistic routing and network coding schemes have lately attracted considerable attention. Although an existing method that employs such schemes, MAC-independent opportunistic routing and encoding (MORE), Chachulski et al. (2007), improves the efficiency of data delivery in an unstable wireless mesh network, it does not address node movement. To efficiently deliver data in a MANET, the method proposed in this paper thus first employs the same opportunistic routing and network coding used in MORE and also uses the location information and transmission probabilities of neighbor nodes to adapt to changeable network topology and wireless network condition. The simulation experiments showed that the proposed method can achieve efficient data delivery with low network load when the movement speed is relatively slow. PMID:24672371

  3. Data delivery method based on neighbor nodes' information in a mobile ad hoc network.

    PubMed

    Kashihara, Shigeru; Hayashi, Takuma; Taenaka, Yuzo; Okuda, Takeshi; Yamaguchi, Suguru

    2014-01-01

    This paper proposes a data delivery method based on neighbor nodes' information to achieve reliable communication in a mobile ad hoc network (MANET). In a MANET, it is difficult to deliver data reliably due to instabilities in network topology and wireless network condition which result from node movement. To overcome such unstable communication, opportunistic routing and network coding schemes have lately attracted considerable attention. Although an existing method that employs such schemes, MAC-independent opportunistic routing and encoding (MORE), Chachulski et al. (2007), improves the efficiency of data delivery in an unstable wireless mesh network, it does not address node movement. To efficiently deliver data in a MANET, the method proposed in this paper thus first employs the same opportunistic routing and network coding used in MORE and also uses the location information and transmission probabilities of neighbor nodes to adapt to changeable network topology and wireless network condition. The simulation experiments showed that the proposed method can achieve efficient data delivery with low network load when the movement speed is relatively slow.

  4. Identifying strategy for ad hoc percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with anticipated unfavorable radial access: the Little Women study.

    PubMed

    Sgueglia, Gregory A; Todaro, Daniel; De Santis, Antonella; Conte, Micaela; Gioffrè, Gaetano; Di Giorgio, Angela; D'Errico, Fabrizio; Piccioni, Fabiana; Summaria, Francesco; Gaspardone, Achille

    2017-10-16

    Transradial percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) offers important advantages over transfemoral PCI, including better outcomes. However, when there is indication to ad hoc PCI, a 6 French workflow is a common default strategy, hence potentially influencing vascular access selection in patients with anticipated small size radial artery. A multidimensional evaluation was performed to compare two ad hoc interventional strategies in women <160cm: a full 6 French workflow (namely 6 French introducer sheath, diagnostic catheters and guiding catheter) with a modified workflow consisting in the use of 5 French diagnostic catheters preceded by the placement of a 6 French sheath introducer and followed by a 6 French guiding catheter use for PCI. Overall 120 women (68±11years) were enrolled in the study. Coronary angiography has been performed using 5 French or 6 French diagnostic catheters in 57 (47.5%) and 63 (52.5%) cases, respectively. Radial spasm and switch to another access occurred more frequently among women who underwent coronary angiography with 6 French rather than 5 French diagnostic catheters (43% vs. 25%, p=0.03 and 2% vs. 11%, p=0.04, respectively). Total time to guidewire lesion crossing was also significantly higher when PCI has been preceded by 6 French rather than 5 French coronary angiography (23±11min vs 16±7min, p=0.013). In patients with anticipated unfavorable radial access, a workflow consisting in 6 French introducer sheath placement, 5 French coronary angiography, and 6 French coronary intervention is on multiple parameters the most straightforward and effective strategy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Enhancing the Selection of Backoff Interval Using Fuzzy Logic over Wireless Ad Hoc Networks

    PubMed Central

    Ranganathan, Radha; Kannan, Kathiravan

    2015-01-01

    IEEE 802.11 is the de facto standard for medium access over wireless ad hoc network. The collision avoidance mechanism (i.e., random binary exponential backoff—BEB) of IEEE 802.11 DCF (distributed coordination function) is inefficient and unfair especially under heavy load. In the literature, many algorithms have been proposed to tune the contention window (CW) size. However, these algorithms make every node select its backoff interval between [0, CW] in a random and uniform manner. This randomness is incorporated to avoid collisions among the nodes. But this random backoff interval can change the optimal order and frequency of channel access among competing nodes which results in unfairness and increased delay. In this paper, we propose an algorithm that schedules the medium access in a fair and effective manner. This algorithm enhances IEEE 802.11 DCF with additional level of contention resolution that prioritizes the contending nodes according to its queue length and waiting time. Each node computes its unique backoff interval using fuzzy logic based on the input parameters collected from contending nodes through overhearing. We evaluate our algorithm against IEEE 802.11, GDCF (gentle distributed coordination function) protocols using ns-2.35 simulator and show that our algorithm achieves good performance. PMID:25879066

  6. Optimal JPWL Forward Error Correction Rate Allocation for Robust JPEG 2000 Images and Video Streaming over Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Agueh, Max; Diouris, Jean-François; Diop, Magaye; Devaux, François-Olivier; De Vleeschouwer, Christophe; Macq, Benoit

    2008-12-01

    Based on the analysis of real mobile ad hoc network (MANET) traces, we derive in this paper an optimal wireless JPEG 2000 compliant forward error correction (FEC) rate allocation scheme for a robust streaming of images and videos over MANET. The packet-based proposed scheme has a low complexity and is compliant to JPWL, the 11th part of the JPEG 2000 standard. The effectiveness of the proposed method is evaluated using a wireless Motion JPEG 2000 client/server application; and the ability of the optimal scheme to guarantee quality of service (QoS) to wireless clients is demonstrated.

  7. Cost analysis of living donor liver transplantation: the first Italian economical data.

    PubMed

    Passarani, S; De Carlis, L; Maione, G; Alberti, A B; Bevilacqua, L; Baraldi, S

    2007-10-01

    Over a period of 30 months, the Niguarda Ca'Granda Hospital performed 12 living donor liver transplants (LDLT) on adult subjects using the split-liver technique and transplant of the right lobe. The purpose of this work is to evaluate the financial obligation that this technique will bring, the ethical and cultural aspects, and the mortality related to surgery on a healthy donor whose only reward is in the knowledge of having done everything possible for a loved family member. The analysis of the costs of the surgical process takes into account the simultaneous consideration of both types of patients: the donor and the recipient. The diagnostic course is subdivided into seven functional phases of the cost centers, and the transitory sequences of the foreseeable events of the entire process. The method used consists in the appraisal of all the clinical activities in chronological order several the centers of cost. The direct expenses are evaluated according to an analytical method, and the indirect costs has been carried out on the criterion of the activities of support to the process (management of the orders, recording and programming of the activities) and support to the organization (maintenance, management supplying and contests of contract, programming of the business production, management warehouses, supplyings, marketing and relations with the public). The cost of all the patients evaluated that were not able to donate has been added to the direct expenses of 12 donor and 12 recipient patients, in all 30 patients, so as to shift the added expenses only to the donor patient, since these costs are not included in the typical costs of transplantation from a cadaver. The indirect cost calculated for each patient has been added to the direct costs of the donor and recipient patients. The total calculated cost of LDLT is 175, 210.78 Euros. The analysis of the economical obligation that this practice brings is the starting point for an accurate evaluation of all

  8. Hospital cost accounting: implementing the system successfully.

    PubMed

    Burik, D; Duvall, T J

    1985-05-01

    To successfully implement a cost accounting system, certain key steps should be undertaken. These steps include developing and installing software; developing cost center budgets and inter-cost center allocations; developing service item standard costs; generating cost center level and patient level standard cost reports and reconciling these costs to actual costs; generating product line profitability reports and reconciling these reports to the financial statements; and providing ad hoc reporting capabilities. By following these steps, potential problems in the implementation process can be anticipated and avoided.

  9. Integration of Body Sensor Networks and Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks for Traffic Safety

    PubMed Central

    Reyes-Muñoz, Angelica; Domingo, Mari Carmen; López-Trinidad, Marco Antonio; Delgado, José Luis

    2016-01-01

    The emergence of Body Sensor Networks (BSNs) constitutes a new and fast growing trend for the development of daily routine applications. However, in the case of heterogeneous BSNs integration with Vehicular ad hoc Networks (VANETs) a large number of difficulties remain, that must be solved, especially when talking about the detection of human state factors that impair the driving of motor vehicles. The main contributions of this investigation are principally three: (1) an exhaustive review of the current mechanisms to detect four basic physiological behavior states (drowsy, drunk, driving under emotional state disorders and distracted driving) that may cause traffic accidents is presented; (2) A middleware architecture is proposed. This architecture can communicate with the car dashboard, emergency services, vehicles belonging to the VANET and road or street facilities. This architecture seeks on the one hand to improve the car driving experience of the driver and on the other hand to extend security mechanisms for the surrounding individuals; and (3) as a proof of concept, an Android real-time attention low level detection application that runs in a next-generation smartphone is developed. The application features mechanisms that allow one to measure the degree of attention of a driver on the base of her/his EEG signals, establish wireless communication links via various standard wireless means, GPRS, Bluetooth and WiFi and issue alarms of critical low driver attention levels. PMID:26784204

  10. A minimum income for healthy living

    PubMed Central

    Morris, J; Donkin, A; Wonderling, D; Wilkinson, P; Dowler, E

    2000-01-01

    BACKGROUND—Half a century of research has provided consensual evidence of major personal requisites of adult health in nutrition, physical activity and psychosocial relations. Their minimal money costs, together with those of a home and other basic necessities, indicate disposable income that is now essential for health.
METHODS—In a first application we identified such representative minimal costs for healthy, single, working men aged 18-30, in the UK. Costs were derived from ad hoc survey, relevant figures in the national Family Expenditure Survey, and by pragmatic decision for the few minor items where survey data were not available.
RESULTS—Minimum costs were assessed at £131.86 per week (UK April 1999 prices). Component costs, especially those of housing (which represents around 40% of this total), depend on region and on several assumptions. By varying these a range of totals from £106.47 to £163.86 per week was detailed. These figures compare, 1999, with the new UK national minimum wage, after statutory deductions, of £105.84 at 18-21 years and £121.12 at 22+ years for a 38 hour working week. Corresponding basic social security rates are £40.70-£51.40 per week.
INTERPRETATION—Accumulating science means that absolute standards of living, "poverty", minimal official incomes and the like, can now be assessed by objective measurement of the personal capacity to meet the costs of major requisites of healthy living. A realistic assessment of these costs is presented as an impetus to public discussion. It is a historical role of public health as social medicine to lead in public advocacy of such a national agenda.


Keywords: income; public health; lifestyle; nutrition; housing; exercise; social exclusion; inequalities PMID:11076983

  11. Dynamic Agent Classification and Tracking Using an Ad Hoc Mobile Acoustic Sensor Network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Friedlander, David; Griffin, Christopher; Jacobson, Noah; Phoha, Shashi; Brooks, Richard R.

    2003-12-01

    Autonomous networks of sensor platforms can be designed to interact in dynamic and noisy environments to determine the occurrence of specified transient events that define the dynamic process of interest. For example, a sensor network may be used for battlefield surveillance with the purpose of detecting, identifying, and tracking enemy activity. When the number of nodes is large, human oversight and control of low-level operations is not feasible. Coordination and self-organization of multiple autonomous nodes is necessary to maintain connectivity and sensor coverage and to combine information for better understanding the dynamics of the environment. Resource conservation requires adaptive clustering in the vicinity of the event. This paper presents methods for dynamic distributed signal processing using an ad hoc mobile network of microsensors to detect, identify, and track targets in noisy environments. They seamlessly integrate data from fixed and mobile platforms and dynamically organize platforms into clusters to process local data along the trajectory of the targets. Local analysis of sensor data is used to determine a set of target attribute values and classify the target. Sensor data from a field test in the Marine base at Twentynine Palms, Calif, was analyzed using the techniques described in this paper. The results were compared to "ground truth" data obtained from GPS receivers on the vehicles.

  12. Energy Efficient Link Aware Routing with Power Control in Wireless Ad Hoc Networks.

    PubMed

    Katiravan, Jeevaa; Sylvia, D; Rao, D Srinivasa

    2015-01-01

    In wireless ad hoc networks, the traditional routing protocols make the route selection based on minimum distance between the nodes and the minimum number of hop counts. Most of the routing decisions do not consider the condition of the network such as link quality and residual energy of the nodes. Also, when a link failure occurs, a route discovery mechanism is initiated which incurs high routing overhead. If the broadcast nature and the spatial diversity of the wireless communication are utilized efficiently it becomes possible to achieve improvement in the performance of the wireless networks. In contrast to the traditional routing scheme which makes use of a predetermined route for packet transmission, such an opportunistic routing scheme defines a predefined forwarding candidate list formed by using single network metrics. In this paper, a protocol is proposed which uses multiple metrics such as residual energy and link quality for route selection and also includes a monitoring mechanism which initiates a route discovery for a poor link, thereby reducing the overhead involved and improving the throughput of the network while maintaining network connectivity. Power control is also implemented not only to save energy but also to improve the network performance. Using simulations, we show the performance improvement attained in the network in terms of packet delivery ratio, routing overhead, and residual energy of the network.

  13. Energy Efficient Link Aware Routing with Power Control in Wireless Ad Hoc Networks

    PubMed Central

    Katiravan, Jeevaa; Sylvia, D.; Rao, D. Srinivasa

    2015-01-01

    In wireless ad hoc networks, the traditional routing protocols make the route selection based on minimum distance between the nodes and the minimum number of hop counts. Most of the routing decisions do not consider the condition of the network such as link quality and residual energy of the nodes. Also, when a link failure occurs, a route discovery mechanism is initiated which incurs high routing overhead. If the broadcast nature and the spatial diversity of the wireless communication are utilized efficiently it becomes possible to achieve improvement in the performance of the wireless networks. In contrast to the traditional routing scheme which makes use of a predetermined route for packet transmission, such an opportunistic routing scheme defines a predefined forwarding candidate list formed by using single network metrics. In this paper, a protocol is proposed which uses multiple metrics such as residual energy and link quality for route selection and also includes a monitoring mechanism which initiates a route discovery for a poor link, thereby reducing the overhead involved and improving the throughput of the network while maintaining network connectivity. Power control is also implemented not only to save energy but also to improve the network performance. Using simulations, we show the performance improvement attained in the network in terms of packet delivery ratio, routing overhead, and residual energy of the network. PMID:26167529

  14. The congestion control algorithm based on queue management of each node in mobile ad hoc networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wei, Yifei; Chang, Lin; Wang, Yali; Wang, Gaoping

    2016-12-01

    This paper proposes an active queue management mechanism, considering the node's own ability and its importance in the network to set the queue threshold. As the network load increases, local congestion of mobile ad hoc network may lead to network performance degradation, hot node's energy consumption increase even failure. If small energy nodes congested because of forwarding data packets, then when it is used as the source node will cause a lot of packet loss. This paper proposes an active queue management mechanism, considering the node's own ability and its importance in the network to set the queue threshold. Controlling nodes buffer queue in different levels of congestion area probability by adjusting the upper limits and lower limits, thus nodes can adjust responsibility of forwarding data packets according to their own situation. The proposed algorithm will slow down the send rate hop by hop along the data package transmission direction from congestion node to source node so that to prevent further congestion from the source node. The simulation results show that, the algorithm can better play the data forwarding ability of strong nodes, protect the weak nodes, can effectively alleviate the network congestion situation.

  15. An adaptive neural swarm approach for intrusion defense in ad hoc networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cannady, James

    2011-06-01

    Wireless sensor networks (WSN) and mobile ad hoc networks (MANET) are being increasingly deployed in critical applications due to the flexibility and extensibility of the technology. While these networks possess numerous advantages over traditional wireless systems in dynamic environments they are still vulnerable to many of the same types of host-based and distributed attacks common to those systems. Unfortunately, the limited power and bandwidth available in WSNs and MANETs, combined with the dynamic connectivity that is a defining characteristic of the technology, makes it extremely difficult to utilize traditional intrusion detection techniques. This paper describes an approach to accurately and efficiently detect potentially damaging activity in WSNs and MANETs. It enables the network as a whole to recognize attacks, anomalies, and potential vulnerabilities in a distributive manner that reflects the autonomic processes of biological systems. Each component of the network recognizes activity in its local environment and then contributes to the overall situational awareness of the entire system. The approach utilizes agent-based swarm intelligence to adaptively identify potential data sources on each node and on adjacent nodes throughout the network. The swarm agents then self-organize into modular neural networks that utilize a reinforcement learning algorithm to identify relevant behavior patterns in the data without supervision. Once the modular neural networks have established interconnectivity both locally and with neighboring nodes the analysis of events within the network can be conducted collectively in real-time. The approach has been shown to be extremely effective in identifying distributed network attacks.

  16. Direct trust-based security scheme for RREQ flooding attack in mobile ad hoc networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kumar, Sunil; Dutta, Kamlesh

    2017-06-01

    The routing algorithms in MANETs exhibit distributed and cooperative behaviour which makes them easy target for denial of service (DoS) attacks. RREQ flooding attack is a flooding-type DoS attack in context to Ad hoc On Demand Distance Vector (AODV) routing protocol, where the attacker broadcasts massive amount of bogus Route Request (RREQ) packets to set up the route with the non-existent or existent destination in the network. This paper presents direct trust-based security scheme to detect and mitigate the impact of RREQ flooding attack on the network, in which, every node evaluates the trust degree value of its neighbours through analysing the frequency of RREQ packets originated by them over a short period of time. Taking the node's trust degree value as the input, the proposed scheme is smoothly extended for suppressing the surplus RREQ and bogus RREQ flooding packets at one-hop neighbours during the route discovery process. This scheme distinguishes itself from existing techniques by not directly blocking the service of a normal node due to increased amount of RREQ packets in some unusual conditions. The results obtained throughout the simulation experiments clearly show the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed defensive scheme.

  17. SVANET: A smart vehicular ad hoc network for efficient data transmission with wireless sensors.

    PubMed

    Sahoo, Prasan Kumar; Chiang, Ming-Jer; Wu, Shih-Lin

    2014-11-25

    Wireless sensors can sense any event, such as accidents, as well as icy roads, and can forward the rescue/warning messages through intermediate vehicles for any necessary help. In this paper, we propose a smart vehicular ad hoc network (SVANET) architecture that uses wireless sensors to detect events and vehicles to transmit the safety and non-safety messages efficiently by using different service channels and one control channel with different priorities. We have developed a data transmission protocol for the vehicles in the highway, in which data can be forwarded with the help of vehicles if they are connected with each other or data can be forwarded with the help of nearby wireless sensors. Our data transmission protocol is designed to increase the driving safety, to prevent accidents and to utilize channels efficiently by adjusting the control and service channel time intervals dynamically. Besides, our protocol can transmit information to vehicles in advance, so that drivers can decide an alternate route in case of traffic congestion. For various data sharing, we design a method that can select a few leader nodes among vehicles running along a highway to broadcast data efficiently. Simulation results show that our protocol can outperform the existing standard in terms of the end to end packet delivery ratio and latency.

  18. Frame Transmission Efficiency-Based Cross-Layer Congestion Notification Scheme in Wireless Ad Hoc Networks.

    PubMed

    He, Huaguang; Li, Taoshen; Feng, Luting; Ye, Jin

    2017-07-15

    Different from the traditional wired network, the fundamental cause of transmission congestion in wireless ad hoc networks is medium contention. How to utilize the congestion state from the MAC (Media Access Control) layer to adjust the transmission rate is core work for transport protocol design. However, recent works have shown that the existing cross-layer congestion detection solutions are too complex to be deployed or not able to characterize the congestion accurately. We first propose a new congestion metric called frame transmission efficiency (i.e., the ratio of successful transmission delay to the frame service delay), which describes the medium contention in a fast and accurate manner. We further present the design and implementation of RECN (ECN and the ratio of successful transmission delay to the frame service delay in the MAC layer, namely, the frame transmission efficiency), a general supporting scheme that adjusts the transport sending rate through a standard ECN (Explicit Congestion Notification) signaling method. Our method can be deployed on commodity switches with small firmware updates, while making no modification on end hosts. We integrate RECN transparently (i.e., without modification) with TCP on NS2 simulation. The experimental results show that RECN remarkably improves network goodput across multiple concurrent TCP flows.

  19. Sketching Awareness: A Participatory Study to Elicit Designs for Supporting Ad Hoc Emergency Medical Teamwork

    PubMed Central

    Kusunoki, Diana; Sarcevic, Aleksandra; Zhang, Zhan; Yala, Maria

    2014-01-01

    Prior CSCW research on awareness in clinical settings has mostly focused on higher-level team coordination spanning across longer-term trajectories at the department and inter-department levels. In this paper, we offer a perspective on what awareness means within the context of an ad hoc, time- and safety-critical medical setting by looking at teams treating severely ill patients with urgent needs. We report findings from four participatory design workshops conducted with emergency medicine clinicians at two regional emergency departments. Workshops were developed to elicit design ideas for information displays that support awareness in emergency medical situations. Through analysis of discussions and clinicians’ sketches of information displays, we identified five features of teamwork that can be used as a foundation for supporting awareness from the perspective of clinicians. Based on these findings, we contribute rich descriptions of four facets of awareness that teams manage during emergency medical situations: team member awareness, elapsed time awareness, teamwork-oriented and patient-driven task awareness, and overall progress awareness. We then discuss these four awareness types in relation to awareness facets found in the CSCW literature. PMID:25870498

  20. Secure and Fair Cluster Head Selection Protocol for Enhancing Security in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

    PubMed Central

    Paramasivan, B.; Kaliappan, M.

    2014-01-01

    Mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) are wireless networks consisting of number of autonomous mobile devices temporarily interconnected into a network by wireless media. MANETs become one of the most prevalent areas of research in the recent years. Resource limitations, energy efficiency, scalability, and security are the great challenging issues in MANETs. Due to its deployment nature, MANETs are more vulnerable to malicious attack. The secure routing protocols perform very basic security related functions which are not sufficient to protect the network. In this paper, a secure and fair cluster head selection protocol (SFCP) is proposed which integrates security factors into the clustering approach for achieving attacker identification and classification. Byzantine agreement based cooperative technique is used for attacker identification and classification to make the network more attack resistant. SFCP used to solve this issue by making the nodes that are totally surrounded by malicious neighbors adjust dynamically their belief and disbelief thresholds. The proposed protocol selects the secure and energy efficient cluster head which acts as a local detector without imposing overhead to the clustering performance. SFCP is simulated in network simulator 2 and compared with two protocols including AODV and CBRP. PMID:25143986

  1. Secure and fair cluster head selection protocol for enhancing security in mobile ad hoc networks.

    PubMed

    Paramasivan, B; Kaliappan, M

    2014-01-01

    Mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) are wireless networks consisting of number of autonomous mobile devices temporarily interconnected into a network by wireless media. MANETs become one of the most prevalent areas of research in the recent years. Resource limitations, energy efficiency, scalability, and security are the great challenging issues in MANETs. Due to its deployment nature, MANETs are more vulnerable to malicious attack. The secure routing protocols perform very basic security related functions which are not sufficient to protect the network. In this paper, a secure and fair cluster head selection protocol (SFCP) is proposed which integrates security factors into the clustering approach for achieving attacker identification and classification. Byzantine agreement based cooperative technique is used for attacker identification and classification to make the network more attack resistant. SFCP used to solve this issue by making the nodes that are totally surrounded by malicious neighbors adjust dynamically their belief and disbelief thresholds. The proposed protocol selects the secure and energy efficient cluster head which acts as a local detector without imposing overhead to the clustering performance. SFCP is simulated in network simulator 2 and compared with two protocols including AODV and CBRP.

  2. 46 CFR 506.4 - Cost of living adjustments of civil monetary penalties.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 9 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Cost of living adjustments of civil monetary penalties... MONETARY PENALTY INFLATION ADJUSTMENT § 506.4 Cost of living adjustments of civil monetary penalties. (a... penalty for each civil monetary penalty by the cost-of-living adjustment. Any increase determined under...

  3. 46 CFR 506.4 - Cost of living adjustments of civil monetary penalties.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 9 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Cost of living adjustments of civil monetary penalties... MONETARY PENALTY INFLATION ADJUSTMENT § 506.4 Cost of living adjustments of civil monetary penalties. (a... penalty for each civil monetary penalty by the cost-of-living adjustment. Any increase determined under...

  4. 46 CFR 506.4 - Cost of living adjustments of civil monetary penalties.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 9 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Cost of living adjustments of civil monetary penalties... MONETARY PENALTY INFLATION ADJUSTMENT § 506.4 Cost of living adjustments of civil monetary penalties. (a... penalty for each civil monetary penalty by the cost-of-living adjustment. Any increase determined under...

  5. 46 CFR 506.4 - Cost of living adjustments of civil monetary penalties.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 9 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Cost of living adjustments of civil monetary penalties... MONETARY PENALTY INFLATION ADJUSTMENT § 506.4 Cost of living adjustments of civil monetary penalties. (a... penalty for each civil monetary penalty by the cost-of-living adjustment. Any increase determined under...

  6. 46 CFR 506.4 - Cost of living adjustments of civil monetary penalties.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 9 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Cost of living adjustments of civil monetary penalties... MONETARY PENALTY INFLATION ADJUSTMENT § 506.4 Cost of living adjustments of civil monetary penalties. (a... penalty for each civil monetary penalty by the cost-of-living adjustment. Any increase determined under...

  7. VehiHealth: An Emergency Routing Protocol for Vehicular Ad Hoc Network to Support Healthcare System.

    PubMed

    Bhoi, S K; Khilar, P M

    2016-03-01

    Survival of a patient depends on effective data communication in healthcare system. In this paper, an emergency routing protocol for Vehicular Ad hoc Network (VANET) is proposed to quickly forward the current patient status information from the ambulance to the hospital to provide pre-medical treatment. As the ambulance takes time to reach the hospital, ambulance doctor can provide sudden treatment to the patient in emergency by sending patient status information to the hospital through the vehicles using vehicular communication. Secondly, the experienced doctors respond to the information by quickly sending a treatment information to the ambulance. In this protocol, data is forwarded through that path which has less link breakage problem between the vehicles. This is done by calculating an intersection value I v a l u e for the neighboring intersections by using the current traffic information. Then the data is forwarded through that intersection which has minimum I v a l u e . Simulation results show VehiHealth performs better than P-GEDIR, GyTAR, A-STAR and GSR routing protocols in terms of average end-to-end delay, number of link breakage, path length, and average response time.

  8. Adjusting Wages to Living Costs: A Historical Note

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lowenstern, Henry

    1974-01-01

    The significant historical developments of the cost of living wage adjustments are summarized. Since the concept of cost of living took effect in 1919, developments that are noted are: World War II, the GM contract 1948, the GM Contract 1950, and the impact of the agreements. (DS)

  9. Ad hoc cost analysis of the new gastrointestinal bleeding algorithm in patients with ventricular assist device.

    PubMed

    Hirose, Hitoshi; Sarosiek, Konrad; Cavarocchi, Nicholas C

    2014-01-01

    Gastrointestinal bleed (GIB) is a known complication in patients receiving nonpulsatile ventricular assist devices (VAD). Previously, we reported a new algorithm for the workup of GIB in VAD patients using deep bowel enteroscopy. In this new algorithm, patients underwent fewer procedures, received less transfusions, and took less time to make the diagnosis than the traditional GIB algorithm group. Concurrently, we reviewed the cost-effectiveness of this new algorithm compared with the traditional workup. The procedure charges for the diagnosis and treatment of each episode of GIB was ~ $2,902 in the new algorithm group versus ~ $9,013 in the traditional algorithm group (p < 0.0001). Following the new algorithm in VAD patients with GIB resulted in fewer transfusions and diagnostic tests while attaining a substantial cost savings per episode of bleeding.

  10. Performance Analysis of the IEEE 802.11p Multichannel MAC Protocol in Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs) employ multichannel to provide a variety of safety and non-safety applications, based on the IEEE 802.11p and IEEE 1609.4 protocols. The safety applications require timely and reliable transmissions, while the non-safety applications require efficient and high throughput. In the IEEE 1609.4 protocol, operating interval is divided into alternating Control Channel (CCH) interval and Service Channel (SCH) interval with an identical length. During the CCH interval, nodes transmit safety-related messages and control messages, and Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA) mechanism is employed to allow four Access Categories (ACs) within a station with different priorities according to their criticality for the vehicle’s safety. During the SCH interval, the non-safety massages are transmitted. An analytical model is proposed in this paper to evaluate performance, reliability and efficiency of the IEEE 802.11p and IEEE 1609.4 protocols. The proposed model improves the existing work by taking serval aspects and the character of multichannel switching into design consideration. Extensive performance evaluations based on analysis and simulation help to validate the accuracy of the proposed model and analyze the capabilities and limitations of the IEEE 802.11p and IEEE 1609.4 protocols, and enhancement suggestions are given. PMID:29231882

  11. Performance Analysis of the IEEE 802.11p Multichannel MAC Protocol in Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks.

    PubMed

    Song, Caixia

    2017-12-12

    Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs) employ multichannel to provide a variety of safety and non-safety applications, based on the IEEE 802.11p and IEEE 1609.4 protocols. The safety applications require timely and reliable transmissions, while the non-safety applications require efficient and high throughput. In the IEEE 1609.4 protocol, operating interval is divided into alternating Control Channel (CCH) interval and Service Channel (SCH) interval with an identical length. During the CCH interval, nodes transmit safety-related messages and control messages, and Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA) mechanism is employed to allow four Access Categories (ACs) within a station with different priorities according to their criticality for the vehicle's safety. During the SCH interval, the non-safety massages are transmitted. An analytical model is proposed in this paper to evaluate performance, reliability and efficiency of the IEEE 802.11p and IEEE 1609.4 protocols. The proposed model improves the existing work by taking serval aspects and the character of multichannel switching into design consideration. Extensive performance evaluations based on analysis and simulation help to validate the accuracy of the proposed model and analyze the capabilities and limitations of the IEEE 802.11p and IEEE 1609.4 protocols, and enhancement suggestions are given.

  12. International survey of vestibular rehabilitation therapists by the Barany Society Ad Hoc Committee on Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy.

    PubMed

    Cohen, Helen S; Gottshall, Kim R; Graziano, Mariella; Malmstrom, Eva-Maj; Sharpe, Margaret H

    2009-01-01

    The goal of this study was to determine how occupational and physical therapists learn about vestibular rehabilitation therapy, their educational backgrounds, referral patterns, and their ideas about entry-level and advanced continuing education in vestibular rehabilitation therapy. The Barany Society Ad Hoc Committee for Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy invited therapists around the world to complete an E-mail survey. Participants were either known to committee members or other Barany Society members, known to other participants, identified from their self-listings on the Internet, or volunteered after reading notices published in publications read by therapists. Responses were received from 133 therapists in 19 countries. They had a range of educational backgrounds, practice settings, and referral patterns. Few respondents had had any training about vestibular rehabilitation during their professional entry-level education. Most respondents learned about vestibular rehabilitation from continuing education courses, interactions with their colleagues, and reading. All of them endorsed the concept of developing standards and educating therapists about vestibular anatomy and physiology, vestibular diagnostic testing, vestibular disorders and current intervention strategies. Therefore, the Committee recommends the development of international standards for education and practice in vestibular rehabilitation therapy.

  13. Concurrent Transmission Based on Channel Quality in Ad Hoc Networks: A Game Theoretic Approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Chen; Gao, Xinbo; Li, Xiaoji; Pei, Qingqi

    In this paper, a decentralized concurrent transmission strategy in shared channel in Ad Hoc networks is proposed based on game theory. Firstly, a static concurrent transmissions game is used to determine the candidates for transmitting by channel quality threshold and to maximize the overall throughput with consideration of channel quality variation. To achieve NES (Nash Equilibrium Solution), the selfish behaviors of node to attempt to improve the channel gain unilaterally are evaluated. Therefore, this game allows each node to be distributed and to decide whether to transmit concurrently with others or not depending on NES. Secondly, as there are always some nodes with lower channel gain than NES, which are defined as hunger nodes in this paper, a hunger suppression scheme is proposed by adjusting the price function with interferences reservation and forward relay, to fairly give hunger nodes transmission opportunities. Finally, inspired by stock trading, a dynamic concurrent transmission threshold determination scheme is implemented to make the static game practical. Numerical results show that the proposed scheme is feasible to increase concurrent transmission opportunities for active nodes, and at the same time, the number of hunger nodes is greatly reduced with the least increase of threshold by interferences reservation. Also, the good performance on network goodput of the proposed model can be seen from the results.

  14. SVANET: A Smart Vehicular Ad Hoc Network for Efficient Data Transmission with Wireless Sensors

    PubMed Central

    Sahoo, Prasan Kumar; Chiang, Ming-Jer; Wu, Shih-Lin

    2014-01-01

    Wireless sensors can sense any event, such as accidents, as well as icy roads, and can forward the rescue/warning messages through intermediate vehicles for any necessary help. In this paper, we propose a smart vehicular ad hoc network (SVANET) architecture that uses wireless sensors to detect events and vehicles to transmit the safety and non-safety messages efficiently by using different service channels and one control channel with different priorities. We have developed a data transmission protocol for the vehicles in the highway, in which data can be forwarded with the help of vehicles if they are connected with each other or data can be forwarded with the help of nearby wireless sensors. Our data transmission protocol is designed to increase the driving safety, to prevent accidents and to utilize channels efficiently by adjusting the control and service channel time intervals dynamically. Besides, our protocol can transmit information to vehicles in advance, so that drivers can decide an alternate route in case of traffic congestion. For various data sharing, we design a method that can select a few leader nodes among vehicles running along a highway to broadcast data efficiently. Simulation results show that our protocol can outperform the existing standard in terms of the end to end packet delivery ratio and latency. PMID:25429409

  15. 20 CFR 416.405 - Cost-of-living adjustments in benefits.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Cost-of-living adjustments in benefits. 416.405 Section 416.405 Employees' Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME FOR THE AGED, BLIND, AND DISABLED Amount of Benefits § 416.405 Cost-of-living adjustments in benefits...

  16. 20 CFR 416.405 - Cost-of-living adjustments in benefits.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Cost-of-living adjustments in benefits. 416.405 Section 416.405 Employees' Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME FOR THE AGED, BLIND, AND DISABLED Amount of Benefits § 416.405 Cost-of-living adjustments in benefits...

  17. 20 CFR 416.405 - Cost-of-living adjustments in benefits.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Cost-of-living adjustments in benefits. 416.405 Section 416.405 Employees' Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME FOR THE AGED, BLIND, AND DISABLED Amount of Benefits § 416.405 Cost-of-living adjustments in benefits...

  18. 20 CFR 416.405 - Cost-of-living adjustments in benefits.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Cost-of-living adjustments in benefits. 416.405 Section 416.405 Employees' Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME FOR THE AGED, BLIND, AND DISABLED Amount of Benefits § 416.405 Cost-of-living adjustments in benefits...

  19. The Copyright Law as it Relates to National Information Systems and National Programs; a Study by the Ad Hoc Task Group on Legal Aspects Involved in National Information Systems.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Federal Council for Science and Technology, Washington, DC. Committee on Scientific and Technical Information.

    An ad hoc task group was constituted by the Committee on Scientific and Technical Information (COSATI) to: (1) delineate present and future issues issues for COSATI, (3) recommend additions or deletions in the present copyright law or in the pending revision now in Congress, and (4) recommend other short or long-term actions related to authorship…

  20. Ad Hoc Conference on the Education of Migrants: Introductory Report on Theme I, "The Position of the Immigrant and His Family on Arrival in the Host Country" (Strasbourg, France, November 5-8, 1974).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Morin, Emma

    Theme I of the Ad Hoc Conference on the Education of Migrants was "measures to improve the position of the immigrant and his family at the time of arrival in the host country (including measures taken in the sending country on behalf of those intending to emigrate), primarily in respect of their educational circumstances". This report…

  1. A Game Theory Algorithm for Intra-Cluster Data Aggregation in a Vehicular Ad Hoc Network

    PubMed Central

    Chen, Yuzhong; Weng, Shining; Guo, Wenzhong; Xiong, Naixue

    2016-01-01

    Vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) have an important role in urban management and planning. The effective integration of vehicle information in VANETs is critical to traffic analysis, large-scale vehicle route planning and intelligent transportation scheduling. However, given the limitations in the precision of the output information of a single sensor and the difficulty of information sharing among various sensors in a highly dynamic VANET, effectively performing data aggregation in VANETs remains a challenge. Moreover, current studies have mainly focused on data aggregation in large-scale environments but have rarely discussed the issue of intra-cluster data aggregation in VANETs. In this study, we propose a multi-player game theory algorithm for intra-cluster data aggregation in VANETs by analyzing the competitive and cooperative relationships among sensor nodes. Several sensor-centric metrics are proposed to measure the data redundancy and stability of a cluster. We then study the utility function to achieve efficient intra-cluster data aggregation by considering both data redundancy and cluster stability. In particular, we prove the existence of a unique Nash equilibrium in the game model, and conduct extensive experiments to validate the proposed algorithm. Results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm has advantages over typical data aggregation algorithms in both accuracy and efficiency. PMID:26907272

  2. A Game Theory Algorithm for Intra-Cluster Data Aggregation in a Vehicular Ad Hoc Network.

    PubMed

    Chen, Yuzhong; Weng, Shining; Guo, Wenzhong; Xiong, Naixue

    2016-02-19

    Vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) have an important role in urban management and planning. The effective integration of vehicle information in VANETs is critical to traffic analysis, large-scale vehicle route planning and intelligent transportation scheduling. However, given the limitations in the precision of the output information of a single sensor and the difficulty of information sharing among various sensors in a highly dynamic VANET, effectively performing data aggregation in VANETs remains a challenge. Moreover, current studies have mainly focused on data aggregation in large-scale environments but have rarely discussed the issue of intra-cluster data aggregation in VANETs. In this study, we propose a multi-player game theory algorithm for intra-cluster data aggregation in VANETs by analyzing the competitive and cooperative relationships among sensor nodes. Several sensor-centric metrics are proposed to measure the data redundancy and stability of a cluster. We then study the utility function to achieve efficient intra-cluster data aggregation by considering both data redundancy and cluster stability. In particular, we prove the existence of a unique Nash equilibrium in the game model, and conduct extensive experiments to validate the proposed algorithm. Results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm has advantages over typical data aggregation algorithms in both accuracy and efficiency.

  3. 5 CFR 838.622 - Cost-of-living and salary adjustments.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Cost-of-living and salary adjustments....622 Cost-of-living and salary adjustments. (a)(1) A court order that awards adjustments to a former... such as “salary adjustments” or “pay adjustments” occurring after the date of the decree provides...

  4. Geographical aspects of geo-arbitrage: work in Canada and live in countries with low cost of living

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Penney, J.; Dramowicz, K.

    2016-04-01

    The term geo-arbitrage means taking advantage of the difference in living costs between different geographic locations. This paper focuses on geographical aspects of international geo-arbitrage based on differences in the cost of living from one country to another. More precisely, the paper shows the perspective for a Canadian (student, volunteer, entrepreneur, IT person, or retiree) with some sort of mobile income or savings can take advantage of price differences by traveling to other countries. The paper is based on world development indicators, which cover a wide range of criteria when moving to another country. The data were collected for approximately 200 countries and represent the following categories of criteria: cost of living (economic factors), standard of living (such as safety, health care, environmental issues), and personal preferences (such as distance to home, Internet access or popularity of English language). The user input is required to rank or weight the importance of each of the criteria when moving to another country. One model was developed to emphasize the cost of living by controlling the weights ‘behind-the-scenes’. The results produce a list of the top suitable countries to practice geo-arbitrage. Another model allows the user to input weights for each criteria instead of ranks. The results from both models are mapped based on resulting suitability values. The top selected suitable countries are mapped, and the more specific information on each selected country is presented to the user, including the detailed cost of living, and current travel warning.

  5. Lives Saved Tool (LiST) costing: a module to examine costs and prioritize interventions.

    PubMed

    Bollinger, Lori A; Sanders, Rachel; Winfrey, William; Adesina, Adebiyi

    2017-11-07

    Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals will require careful allocation of resources in order to achieve the highest impact. The Lives Saved Tool (LiST) has been used widely to calculate the impact of maternal, neonatal and child health (MNCH) interventions for program planning and multi-country estimation in several Lancet Series commissions. As use of the LiST model increases, many have expressed a desire to cost interventions within the model, in order to support budgeting and prioritization of interventions by countries. A limited LiST costing module was introduced several years ago, but with gaps in cost types. Updates to inputs have now been added to make the module fully functional for a range of uses. This paper builds on previous work that developed an initial version of the LiST costing module to provide costs for MNCH interventions using an ingredients-based costing approach. Here, we update in 2016 the previous econometric estimates from 2013 with newly-available data and also include above-facility level costs such as program management. The updated econometric estimates inform percentages of intervention-level costs for some direct costs and indirect costs. These estimates add to existing values for direct cost requirements for items such as drugs and supplies and required provider time which were already available in LiST Costing. Results generated by the LiST costing module include costs for each intervention, as well as disaggregated costs by intervention including drug and supply costs, labor costs, other recurrent costs, capital costs, and above-service delivery costs. These results can be combined with mortality estimates to support prioritization of interventions by countries. The LiST costing module provides an option for countries to identify resource requirements for scaling up a maternal, neonatal, and child health program, and to examine the financial impact of different resource allocation strategies. It can be a useful tool for

  6. Services oriented architectures and rapid deployment of ad-hoc health surveillance systems: lessons from Katrina relief efforts.

    PubMed

    Mirhaji, Parsa; Casscells, S Ward; Srinivasan, Arunkumar; Kunapareddy, Narendra; Byrne, Sean; Richards, David Mark; Arafat, Raouf

    2006-01-01

    During the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, a new city was born overnight within the City of Houston to provide accommodation and health services for thousands of evacuees deprived of food, rest, medical attention, and sanitation. The hurricane victims had been exposed to flood water, toxic materials, physical injury, and mental stress. This scenario was an invitation for a variety of public health hazards, primarily infectious disease outbreaks. Early detection and monitoring of morbidity and mortality among evacuees due to unattended health conditions was an urgent priority and called for deployment of real-time surveillance to collect and analyze data at the scene, and to enable and guide appropriate response and planning activities. The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHSC) and the Houston Department of Health and Human Services (HDHHS) deployed an ad hoc surveillance system overnight by leveraging Internet-based technologies and Services Oriented Architecture (SOA). The system was post-coordinated through the orchestration of Web Services such as information integration, natural language processing, syndromic case finding, and online analytical processing (OLAP). Here we will report the use of Internet-based and distributed architectures in providing timely, novel, and customizable solutions on demand for unprecedented events such as natural disasters.

  7. The Reliability, Impact, and Cost-Effectiveness of Value-Added Teacher Assessment Methods

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yeh, Stuart S.

    2012-01-01

    This article reviews evidence regarding the intertemporal reliability of teacher rankings based on value-added methods. Value-added methods exhibit low reliability, yet are broadly supported by prominent educational researchers and are increasingly being used to evaluate and fire teachers. The article then presents a cost-effectiveness analysis…

  8. 20 CFR 404.271 - When automatic cost-of-living increases apply.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false When automatic cost-of-living increases apply. 404.271 Section 404.271 Employees' Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION FEDERAL OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS AND DISABILITY INSURANCE (1950- ) Computing Primary Insurance Amounts Cost-Of-Living Increases § 404...

  9. Exploring the Role of Ad Hoc Grassroots Organizations Providing Humanitarian Aid on Lesvos, Greece

    PubMed Central

    Kitching, George Tjensvoll; J. Haavik, Hanne; Tandstad, Birgit J.; Zaman, Muhammad; Darj, Elisabeth

    2016-01-01

    Introduction: Syrian refugees displaced into Turkey have attempted high-risk sea migrations to reach safer destinations in Europe, most often initially arriving on the Greek island of Lesvos. These refugees were often in need of basic humanitarian assistance that has been provided in part by a new category of ad hoc grassroots organizations (AHGOs). The aim of this study was to understand the internal and external operations of these AHGOs and their role on Lesvos. Methods: The experiences of AHGOs were investigated through a qualitative research design utilizing semi-structured interviews with organization leaders and spokespersons. AHGOs identified through media and social media sources as new Lesvos-specific organizations were purposively invited to complete an interview over phone, Skype or email. Data analysis of the transcribed interviews was performed by Systematic Text Condensation. Results: Forty-one organizations were contacted and 13 interviews were conducted. Most organizations were formed in autumn 2015 responding to the greater influx of refugees and migrants at that time and reported an absence of professional humanitarian agencies providing aid on Lesvos. Three categories emerged from the material. Features of organizations; Features of volunteers and; Evolution of AHGOs. The organizations perceived themselves capable of evaluating needs, mobilizing resources, funding and providing quick response. The volunteers came with limited humanitarian experience and from a wide variety of nationalities and professional backgrounds, and the organizations developed while on Lesvos. Discussion: Knowledge from our findings of AHGOs response to this complex disaster on Lesvos could be utilized in future catastrophes. We conclude that AHGOs may prove effective at providing humanitarian aid in a surge response when international non-governmental organizations are unable to respond quickly. In future complex disasters AHGOs should be recognized as new humanitarian

  10. Exploring the Role of Ad Hoc Grassroots Organizations Providing Humanitarian Aid on Lesvos, Greece.

    PubMed

    Kitching, George Tjensvoll; J Haavik, Hanne; Tandstad, Birgit J; Zaman, Muhammad; Darj, Elisabeth

    2016-11-17

    Syrian refugees displaced into Turkey have attempted high-risk sea migrations to reach safer destinations in Europe, most often initially arriving on the Greek island of Lesvos. These refugees were often in need of basic humanitarian assistance that has been provided in part by a new category of ad hoc grassroots organizations (AHGOs). The aim of this study was to understand the internal and external operations of these AHGOs and their role on Lesvos. The experiences of AHGOs were investigated through a qualitative research design utilizing semi-structured interviews with organization leaders and spokespersons. AHGOs identified through media and social media sources as new Lesvos-specific organizations were purposively invited to complete an interview over phone, Skype or email. Data analysis of the transcribed interviews was performed by Systematic Text Condensation. Forty-one organizations were contacted and 13 interviews were conducted. Most organizations were formed in autumn 2015 responding to the greater influx of refugees and migrants at that time and reported an absence of professional humanitarian agencies providing aid on Lesvos. Three categories emerged from the material. Features of organizations; Features of volunteers and; Evolution of AHGOs. The organizations perceived themselves capable of evaluating needs, mobilizing resources, funding and providing quick response. The volunteers came with limited humanitarian experience and from a wide variety of nationalities and professional backgrounds, and the organizations developed while on Lesvos. Knowledge from our findings of AHGOs response to this complex disaster on Lesvos could be utilized in future catastrophes. We conclude that AHGOs may prove effective at providing humanitarian aid in a surge response when international non-governmental organizations are unable to respond quickly. In future complex disasters AHGOs should be recognized as new humanitarian actors and conditions should be made

  11. Long-term healthcare costs and functional outcomes associated with lack of remission in schizophrenia: a post-hoc analysis of a prospective observational study

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background Little is known about the long-term outcomes for patients with schizophrenia who fail to achieve symptomatic remission. This post-hoc analysis of a 3-year study compared the costs of mental health services and functional outcomes between individuals with schizophrenia who met or did not meet cross-sectional symptom remission at study enrollment. Methods This post-hoc analysis used data from a large, 3-year prospective, non-interventional observational study of individuals treated for schizophrenia in the United States conducted between July 1997 and September 2003. At study enrollment, individuals were classified as non-remitted or remitted using the Schizophrenia Working Group Definition of symptom remission (8 core symptoms rated as mild or less). Mental health service use was measured using medical records. Costs were based on the sites’ medical information systems. Functional outcomes were measured with multiple patient-reported measures and the clinician-rated Quality of Life Scale (QLS). Symptoms were measured using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Outcomes for non-remitted and remitted patients were compared over time using mixed effects models for repeated measures or generalized estimating equations after adjusting for multiple baseline characteristics. Results At enrollment, most of the 2,284 study participants (76.1%) did not meet remission criteria. Non-remitted patients had significantly higher PANSS total scores at baseline, a lower likelihood of being Caucasian, a higher likelihood of hospitalization in the previous year, and a greater likelihood of a substance use diagnosis (all p < 0.05). Total mental health costs were significantly higher for non-remitted patients over the 3-year study (p = 0.008). Non-remitted patients were significantly more likely to be victims of crime, exhibit violent behavior, require emergency services, and lack paid employment during the 3-year study (all p < 0.05). Non-remitted patients also

  12. 32 CFR 269.4 - Cost of living adjustments of civil monetary penalties.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 32 National Defense 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Cost of living adjustments of civil monetary... DEFENSE (CONTINUED) MISCELLANEOUS CIVIL MONETARY PENALTY INFLATION ADJUSTMENT § 269.4 Cost of living.... Maximum civil monetary penalties within the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense are adjusted for...

  13. Obtaining appropriate interval estimates for age when multiple indicators are used: evaluation of an ad-hoc procedure.

    PubMed

    Fieuws, Steffen; Willems, Guy; Larsen-Tangmose, Sara; Lynnerup, Niels; Boldsen, Jesper; Thevissen, Patrick

    2016-03-01

    When an estimate of age is needed, typically multiple indicators are present as found in skeletal or dental information. There exists a vast literature on approaches to estimate age from such multivariate data. Application of Bayes' rule has been proposed to overcome drawbacks of classical regression models but becomes less trivial as soon as the number of indicators increases. Each of the age indicators can lead to a different point estimate ("the most plausible value for age") and a prediction interval ("the range of possible values"). The major challenge in the combination of multiple indicators is not the calculation of a combined point estimate for age but the construction of an appropriate prediction interval. Ignoring the correlation between the age indicators results in intervals being too small. Boldsen et al. (2002) presented an ad-hoc procedure to construct an approximate confidence interval without the need to model the multivariate correlation structure between the indicators. The aim of the present paper is to bring under attention this pragmatic approach and to evaluate its performance in a practical setting. This is all the more needed since recent publications ignore the need for interval estimation. To illustrate and evaluate the method, Köhler et al. (1995) third molar scores are used to estimate the age in a dataset of 3200 male subjects in the juvenile age range.

  14. 20 CFR 10.420 - How are cost-of-living adjustments applied?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... of recurrence of disability, where the pay rate for compensation purposes is the pay rate at the time... effective date of that pay rate began more than one year prior to the date the cost-of-living adjustment took effect. (d) In cases of death, entitlement to cost-of-living adjustments under 5 U.S.C. 8146a...

  15. 20 CFR 10.420 - How are cost-of-living adjustments applied?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... of recurrence of disability, where the pay rate for compensation purposes is the pay rate at the time... effective date of that pay rate began more than one year prior to the date the cost-of living adjustment took effect. (d) In cases of death, entitlement to cost-of-living adjustments under 5 U.S.C. 8146a...

  16. 20 CFR 10.420 - How are cost-of-living adjustments applied?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... of recurrence of disability, where the pay rate for compensation purposes is the pay rate at the time... effective date of that pay rate began more than one year prior to the date the cost-of living adjustment took effect. (d) In cases of death, entitlement to cost-of-living adjustments under 5 U.S.C. 8146a...

  17. 20 CFR 10.420 - How are cost-of-living adjustments applied?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... of recurrence of disability, where the pay rate for compensation purposes is the pay rate at the time... effective date of that pay rate began more than one year prior to the date the cost-of-living adjustment took effect. (d) In cases of death, entitlement to cost-of-living adjustments under 5 U.S.C. 8146a...

  18. 20 CFR 10.420 - How are cost-of-living adjustments applied?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... of recurrence of disability, where the pay rate for compensation purposes is the pay rate at the time... effective date of that pay rate began more than one year prior to the date the cost-of-living adjustment took effect. (d) In cases of death, entitlement to cost-of-living adjustments under 5 U.S.C. 8146a...

  19. Direct and indirect costs incurred by Australian living kidney donors.

    PubMed

    Barnieh, Lianne; Kanellis, John; McDonald, Stephen; Arnold, Jennifer; Sontrop, Jessica M; Cuerden, Meaghan; Klarenbach, Scott; Garg, Amit X; Boudville, Neil

    2017-12-07

    To describe the direct and indirect costs incurred by Australian living kidney donors. We studied 55 living kidney donors from 3 centres in Perth, Australia and 1 centre in Melbourne, Australia (2010-2014); 49 donors provided information on expenses incurred during the donor evaluation period and up to 3 months after donation. We used a micro-costing approach to measure and value the units of resources consumed. Expenses were grouped as direct costs (ground and air travel, accommodation, and prescription medications) and indirect costs (lost wages and lost productivity). We standardized costs to the year 2016 in Australian dollars. The most common direct costs were for ground travel (100%), parking (76%), and post-donation pain medications or antibiotics (73%). The highest direct costs were for air travel (median $1,986 [3 donors]) and ground travel (median $459 [49 donors]). Donors also reported lost wages (median $9,891 [37 donors]). The inability to perform household activities or care for dependants were reported by 32 (65%) and 23 (47%) donors. Total direct costs averaged $1,682 per donor (median $806 among 49 donors). Total indirect costs averaged $7,249 per donor (median $7,273 among 49 donors). Total direct and indirect costs averaged $8,932 per donor (median $7,963 among 49 donors). Many Australian living kidney donors incur substantial costs during the donation process. Our findings inform the continued development of policies and programs designed to minimize costs incurred by living kidney donors. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

  20. Ad hoc posterior tibial vessels perforator propeller flaps for the reconstruction of lower third leg soft- tissue defects.

    PubMed

    Balakrishnan, Thalaivirithan Margabandu; Ramkumar, Jayagosh; Jaganmohan, Janardhanan

    2017-01-01

    Lower third leg soft tissue defects with anatomical and pathological constraints are posing formidable challenges to reconstructive surgeon. This retrospective study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of ad hoc posterior tibial vessels perforator-propeller flaps for the reconstruction of small and medium sized soft tissue defects in the lower third leg. 22 patients (16 were males and 6 were females) were involved in this study between period of January 2012 and December 2016.We followed the protocol of initial non delineating exploratory incision made to find out single best perforator in all patients. All the defects in leg reconstructed with adhoc posterior tibial vessel propeller flaps. All 22 flaps survived well. All in an average of 13 months follow up period, had pain free walking, with minimal scarring and acceptable aesthesis at the reconstruction sites with no need for any secondary procedure. With inability of preoperatively dopplering the perforators in the lower third leg region, the exploratory posterior nondelineating incision was used in all cases to secure the single best perforator for the propeller flaps. Thus adhoc posterior tibial vessel propeller flaps are dependable, easily adoptable for the reconstruction of soft tissue defects of the lower third leg region.

  1. Ad hoc posterior tibial vessels perforator propeller flaps for the reconstruction of lower third leg soft- tissue defects

    PubMed Central

    Balakrishnan, Thalaivirithan Margabandu; Ramkumar, Jayagosh; Jaganmohan, Janardhanan

    2017-01-01

    Introduction: Lower third leg soft tissue defects with anatomical and pathological constraints are posing formidable challenges to reconstructive surgeon. Aim: This retrospective study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of ad hoc posterior tibial vessels perforator-propeller flaps for the reconstruction of small and medium sized soft tissue defects in the lower third leg. Patients and Methods: 22 patients (16 were males and 6 were females) were involved in this study between period of January 2012 and December 2016.We followed the protocol of initial non delineating exploratory incision made to find out single best perforator in all patients. All the defects in leg reconstructed with adhoc posterior tibial vessel propeller flaps. Results: All 22 flaps survived well. All in an average of 13 months follow up period, had pain free walking, with minimal scarring and acceptable aesthesis at the reconstruction sites with no need for any secondary procedure. Conclusion: With inability of preoperatively dopplering the perforators in the lower third leg region, the exploratory posterior nondelineating incision was used in all cases to secure the single best perforator for the propeller flaps. Thus adhoc posterior tibial vessel propeller flaps are dependable, easily adoptable for the reconstruction of soft tissue defects of the lower third leg region. PMID:29618863

  2. Performance analysis of multi-radio routing protocol in cognitive radio ad hoc networks under different path failure rate

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Che-Aron, Z.; Abdalla, A. H.; Abdullah, K.; Hassan, W. H.

    2013-12-01

    In recent years, Cognitive Radio (CR) technology has largely attracted significant studies and research. Cognitive Radio Ad Hoc Network (CRAHN) is an emerging self-organized, multi-hop, wireless network which allows unlicensed users to opportunistically access available licensed spectrum bands for data communication under an intelligent and cautious manner. However, in CRAHNs, a lot of failures can easily occur during data transmission caused by PU (Primary User) activity, topology change, node fault, or link degradation. In this paper, an attempt has been made to evaluate the performance of the Multi-Radio Link-Quality Source Routing (MR-LQSR) protocol in CRAHNs under different path failure rate. In the MR-LQSR protocol, the Weighted Cumulative Expected Transmission Time (WCETT) is used as the routing metric. The simulations are carried out using the NS-2 simulator. The protocol performance is evaluated with respect to performance metrics like average throughput, packet loss, average end-to-end delay and average jitter. From the simulation results, it is observed that the number of path failures depends on the PUs number and mobility rate of SUs (Secondary Users). Moreover, the protocol performance is greatly affected when the path failure rate is high, leading to major service outages.

  3. An evidence-based unified definition of lifelong and acquired premature ejaculation: report of the second international society for sexual medicine ad hoc committee for the definition of premature ejaculation.

    PubMed

    Serefoglu, Ege Can; McMahon, Chris G; Waldinger, Marcel D; Althof, Stanley E; Shindel, Alan; Adaikan, Ganesh; Becher, Edgardo F; Dean, John; Giuliano, Francois; Hellstrom, Wayne Jg; Giraldi, Annamaria; Glina, Sidney; Incrocci, Luca; Jannini, Emmanuele; McCabe, Marita; Parish, Sharon; Rowland, David; Segraves, R Taylor; Sharlip, Ira; Torres, Luiz Otavio

    2014-06-01

    The International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM) Ad Hoc Committee for the Definition of Premature Ejaculation developed the first evidence-based definition for lifelong premature ejaculation (PE) in 2007 and concluded that there were insufficient published objective data at that time to develop a definition for acquired PE. The aim of this article is to review and critique the current literature and develop a contemporary, evidence-based definition for acquired PE and/or a unified definition for both lifelong and acquired PE. In April 2013, the ISSM convened a second Ad Hoc Committee for the Definition of Premature Ejaculation in Bangalore, India. The same evidence-based systematic approach to literature search, retrieval, and evaluation used by the original committee was adopted. The committee unanimously agreed that men with lifelong and acquired PE appear to share the dimensions of short ejaculatory latency, reduced or absent perceived ejaculatory control, and the presence of negative personal consequences. Men with acquired PE are older, have higher incidences of erectile dysfunction, comorbid disease, and cardiovascular risk factors, and have a longer intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT) as compared with men with lifelong PE. A self-estimated or stopwatch IELT of 3 minutes was identified as a valid IELT cut-off for diagnosing acquired PE. On this basis, the committee agreed on a unified definition of both acquired and lifelong PE as a male sexual dysfunction characterized by (i) ejaculation that always or nearly always occurs prior to or within about 1 minute of vaginal penetration from the first sexual experience (lifelong PE) or a clinically significant and bothersome reduction in latency time, often to about 3 minutes or less (acquired PE); (ii) the inability to delay ejaculation on all or nearly all vaginal penetrations; and (iii) negative personal consequences, such as distress, bother, frustration, and/or the avoidance of sexual intimacy. The

  4. An Evidence-Based Unified Definition of Lifelong and Acquired Premature Ejaculation: Report of the Second International Society for Sexual Medicine Ad Hoc Committee for the Definition of Premature Ejaculation

    PubMed Central

    Serefoglu, Ege Can; McMahon, Chris G; Waldinger, Marcel D; Althof, Stanley E; Shindel, Alan; Adaikan, Ganesh; Becher, Edgardo F; Dean, John; Giuliano, Francois; Hellstrom, Wayne JG; Giraldi, Annamaria; Glina, Sidney; Incrocci, Luca; Jannini, Emmanuele; McCabe, Marita; Parish, Sharon; Rowland, David; Segraves, R Taylor; Sharlip, Ira; Torres, Luiz Otavio

    2014-01-01

    Introduction The International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM) Ad Hoc Committee for the Definition of Premature Ejaculation developed the first evidence-based definition for lifelong premature ejaculation (PE) in 2007 and concluded that there were insufficient published objective data at that time to develop a definition for acquired PE. Aim The aim of this article is to review and critique the current literature and develop a contemporary, evidence-based definition for acquired PE and/or a unified definition for both lifelong and acquired PE. Methods In April 2013, the ISSM convened a second Ad Hoc Committee for the Definition of Premature Ejaculation in Bangalore, India. The same evidence-based systematic approach to literature search, retrieval, and evaluation used by the original committee was adopted. Results The committee unanimously agreed that men with lifelong and acquired PE appear to share the dimensions of short ejaculatory latency, reduced or absent perceived ejaculatory control, and the presence of negative personal consequences. Men with acquired PE are older, have higher incidences of erectile dysfunction, comorbid disease, and cardiovascular risk factors, and have a longer intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT) as compared with men with lifelong PE. A self-estimated or stopwatch IELT of 3 minutes was identified as a valid IELT cut-off for diagnosing acquired PE. On this basis, the committee agreed on a unified definition of both acquired and lifelong PE as a male sexual dysfunction characterized by (i) ejaculation that always or nearly always occurs prior to or within about 1 minute of vaginal penetration from the first sexual experience (lifelong PE) or a clinically significant and bothersome reduction in latency time, often to about 3 minutes or less (acquired PE); (ii) the inability to delay ejaculation on all or nearly all vaginal penetrations; and (iii) negative personal consequences, such as distress, bother, frustration, and/or the

  5. 78 FR 21712 - Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustments for Service-Connected Benefits

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-04-11

    ... DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustments for Service-Connected Benefits AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: As required by the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2012, Public Law 112-198, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA...

  6. Cost effectiveness of budesonide/formoterol added to tiotropium bromide versus placebo added to tiotropium bromide in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: Australian, Canadian and Swedish healthcare perspectives.

    PubMed

    Mittmann, Nicole; Hernandez, Paul; Mellström, Carl; Brannman, Lance; Welte, Tobias

    2011-05-01

    Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive inflammatory lung disease associated with increasing morbidity and mortality and an economic burden that stretches beyond the patient to healthcare systems. Avoiding exacerbations and subsequent hospitalizations is an important clinical aim and can avoid significant costs associated with the disease. International guidelines recommend the addition of an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) to a long-acting β₂-adrenoceptor agonist (LABA) for patients with severe to very severe COPD and a history of exacerbations. To evaluate retrospectively over a 3-month period, the cost effectiveness of budesonide/formoterol added to tiotropium bromide (tiotropium) compared with placebo added to tiotropium in COPD patients eligible for ICS/LABA combination therapy, based on the CLIMB study (NCT00496470). A cost-effectiveness analysis of data from the 12-week, randomized, double-blind CLIMB study of COPD patients (n = 659; eligible for ICS/LABA; aged ≥ 40 years) comparing budesonide/formoterol (Symbicort® Turbuhaler® 320/9 μg twice daily) added to tiotropium (18 μg daily) or placebo added to tiotropium was conducted. A severe exacerbation was defined as a requirement for systemic glucocorticosteroids and/or ED visit and/or hospitalization. The effectiveness variable used for this analysis was the number of severe exacerbations avoided. Direct costs (medications, hospitalizations, ED and GP visits) were calculated by applying year 2009 unit costs from Australia ($A), Canada ($Can) and Sweden (Swedish krona [SEK]) to the study's pooled resource use. One-way sensitivity analyses for each country's mean incremental cost-effectiveness ratio and sensitivity to overall exacerbations were conducted. Bootstrapping was performed to estimate the variation around resource use, exacerbations and each country's mean incremental cost-effectiveness ratio. The mean number of severe exacerbations per patient 3-month period was 0

  7. 20 CFR 404.273 - When are automatic cost-of-living increases effective?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false When are automatic cost-of-living increases effective? 404.273 Section 404.273 Employees' Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION FEDERAL OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS AND DISABILITY INSURANCE (1950- ) Computing Primary Insurance Amounts Cost-Of-Living Increases...

  8. Study of activity based costing implementation for palm oil production using value-added and non-value-added activity consideration in PT XYZ palm oil mill

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sembiring, M. T.; Wahyuni, D.; Sinaga, T. S.; Silaban, A.

    2018-02-01

    Cost allocation at manufacturing industry particularly in Palm Oil Mill still widely practiced based on estimation. It leads to cost distortion. Besides, processing time determined by company is not in accordance with actual processing time in work station. Hence, the purpose of this study is to eliminates non-value-added activities therefore processing time could be shortened and production cost could be reduced. Activity Based Costing Method is used in this research to calculate production cost with Value Added and Non-Value-Added Activities consideration. The result of this study is processing time decreasing for 35.75% at Weighting Bridge Station, 29.77% at Sorting Station, 5.05% at Loading Ramp Station, and 0.79% at Sterilizer Station. Cost of Manufactured for Crude Palm Oil are IDR 5.236,81/kg calculated by Traditional Method, IDR 4.583,37/kg calculated by Activity Based Costing Method before implementation of Activity Improvement and IDR 4.581,71/kg after implementation of Activity Improvement Meanwhile Cost of Manufactured for Palm Kernel are IDR 2.159,50/kg calculated by Traditional Method, IDR 4.584,63/kg calculated by Activity Based Costing Method before implementation of Activity Improvement and IDR 4.582,97/kg after implementation of Activity Improvement.

  9. Achieving Congestion Mitigation Using Distributed Power Control for Spectrum Sensor Nodes in Sensor Network-Aided Cognitive Radio Ad Hoc Networks

    PubMed Central

    Zhuo, Fan; Duan, Hucai

    2017-01-01

    The data sequence of spectrum sensing results injected from dedicated spectrum sensor nodes (SSNs) and the data traffic from upstream secondary users (SUs) lead to unpredictable data loads in a sensor network-aided cognitive radio ad hoc network (SN-CRN). As a result, network congestion may occur at a SU acting as fusion center when the offered data load exceeds its available capacity, which degrades network performance. In this paper, we present an effective approach to mitigate congestion of bottlenecked SUs via a proposed distributed power control framework for SSNs over a rectangular grid based SN-CRN, aiming to balance resource load and avoid excessive congestion. To achieve this goal, a distributed power control framework for SSNs from interior tier (IT) and middle tier (MT) is proposed to achieve the tradeoff between channel capacity and energy consumption. In particular, we firstly devise two pricing factors by considering stability of local spectrum sensing and spectrum sensing quality for SSNs. By the aid of pricing factors, the utility function of this power control problem is formulated by jointly taking into account the revenue of power reduction and the cost of energy consumption for IT or MT SSN. By bearing in mind the utility function maximization and linear differential equation constraint of energy consumption, we further formulate the power control problem as a differential game model under a cooperation or noncooperation scenario, and rigorously obtain the optimal solutions to this game model by employing dynamic programming. Then the congestion mitigation for bottlenecked SUs is derived by alleviating the buffer load over their internal buffers. Simulation results are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach under the rectangular grid based SN-CRN scenario. PMID:28914803

  10. Emergency Situation Prediction Mechanism: A Novel Approach for Intelligent Transportation System Using Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks

    PubMed Central

    Gokulakrishnan, P.

    2015-01-01

    In Indian four-lane express highway, millions of vehicles are travelling every day. Accidents are unfortunate and frequently occurring in these highways causing deaths, increase in death toll, and damage to infrastructure. A mechanism is required to avoid such road accidents at the maximum to reduce the death toll. An Emergency Situation Prediction Mechanism, a novel and proactive approach, is proposed in this paper for achieving the best of Intelligent Transportation System using Vehicular Ad Hoc Network. ESPM intends to predict the possibility of occurrence of an accident in an Indian four-lane express highway. In ESPM, the emergency situation prediction is done by the Road Side Unit based on (i) the Status Report sent by the vehicles in the range of RSU and (ii) the road traffic flow analysis done by the RSU. Once the emergency situation or accident is predicted in advance, an Emergency Warning Message is constructed and disseminated to all vehicles in the area of RSU to alert and prevent the vehicles from accidents. ESPM performs well in emergency situation prediction in advance to the occurrence of an accident. ESPM predicts the emergency situation within 0.20 seconds which is comparatively less than the statistical value. The prediction accuracy of ESPM against vehicle density is found better in different traffic scenarios. PMID:26065014

  11. Cost effectiveness of open versus laparoscopic living-donor nephrectomy.

    PubMed

    Hamidi, Vida; Andersen, Marit Helen; Oyen, Ole; Mathisen, Lars; Fosse, Erik; Kristiansen, Ivar Sønbø

    2009-03-27

    Kidney transplantation is an essential part of care for patients with end-stage renal disease. The introduction of laparoscopic living-donor nephrectomy (LLDN) has made live donation more advantageous because of less postoperative pain, earlier return to normal activities, and a consequent potential to increase the pool of kidney donors. However, the cost effectiveness of LLDN remains unknown. The aim of this study was to explore the health and cost consequences of replacing open-donor nephrectomy by LLDN. Kidney donors were randomized to laparoscopic (n=63) or open surgery (n=59). We obtained data on operating time, personnel costs, length of stay, cost of analgesic, disposable instruments and complications, and indirect costs. Quality of life was captured before the operation and at 1, 6, and 12 months postdonation by means of short form-36. The scores were translated into utilities by means of Brazier's 6D algorithm. The cost per patient was U.S. $55,292 with laparoscopic and U.S. $29,886 with open surgery. The greatest cost difference was in costs attributed to complications (U.S. $33,162 vs. U.S. $4,573). The 1-year quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) were 0.780 and 0.765, respectively for laparoscopic and open surgery. This implies a cost of U.S. $1,693,733 per QALY at 12 months follow-up. Sensitivity analyses indicated that the cost of the major complications in the laparoscopic group and magnitude of QALY gain had the greatest impact on cost effectiveness. The LLDN is an attractive alternative because it, in general, entails less postoperative pain than open surgery, but it is cost effective only with relatively low rates of complications.

  12. AD Hoc Study on Human Robot Interface Issues

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2002-09-01

    of joint range of motion limits on strength. When the angle of a fully deflected aircraft rudder/ brake pedal is beyond the limit of ankle...mobility, the pedal will seem to have excessive resistance. In addition, this will prevent the pilot from fully utilizing the brakes of the aircraft...importance and value added of HE efforts. 34 Center High-Mounted Brake Lights. In 1985, after extensive HE studies showing positive

  13. Dynamic Key Management Schemes for Secure Group Access Control Using Hierarchical Clustering in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tsaur, Woei-Jiunn; Pai, Haw-Tyng

    2008-11-01

    The applications of group computing and communication motivate the requirement to provide group access control in mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs). The operation in MANETs' groups performs a decentralized manner and accommodated membership dynamically. Moreover, due to lack of centralized control, MANETs' groups are inherently insecure and vulnerable to attacks from both within and outside the groups. Such features make access control more challenging in MANETs. Recently, several researchers have proposed group access control mechanisms in MANETs based on a variety of threshold signatures. However, these mechanisms cannot actually satisfy MANETs' dynamic environments. This is because the threshold-based mechanisms cannot be achieved when the number of members is not up to the threshold value. Hence, by combining the efficient elliptic curve cryptosystem, self-certified public key cryptosystem and secure filter technique, we construct dynamic key management schemes based on hierarchical clustering for securing group access control in MANETs. Specifically, the proposed schemes can constantly accomplish secure group access control only by renewing the secure filters of few cluster heads, when a cluster head joins or leaves a cross-cluster. In such a new way, we can find that the proposed group access control scheme can be very effective for securing practical applications in MANETs.

  14. Geographic Variations in Cost of Living: Associations With Family and Child Well-Being

    PubMed Central

    Mistry, Rashmita S.

    2012-01-01

    The effects of geographic variations in cost of living and family income on children’s academic achievement and social competence in first grade (mean age=86.9 months) were examined, mediated through material hardship, parental investments, family stress, and school resources. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K; N = 17,565), higher cost of living was associated with lower academic achievement. For poor children only, higher cost of living was also detrimental to parental investments and school resources. Parental investments and school resources were more strongly associated with achievement for lower-income than higher-income children. Results suggest that cost of living intersects with income in meaningful ways for family and child well-being and should be accounted for in the poverty measure. PMID:22906161

  15. Performance evaluation of reactive and proactive routing protocol in IEEE 802.11 ad hoc network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hamma, Salima; Cizeron, Eddy; Issaka, Hafiz; Guédon, Jean-Pierre

    2006-10-01

    Wireless technology based on the IEEE 802.11 standard is widely deployed. This technology is used to support multiple types of communication services (data, voice, image) with different QoS requirements. MANET (Mobile Adhoc NETwork) does not require a fixed infrastructure. Mobile nodes communicate through multihop paths. The wireless communication medium has variable and unpredictable characteristics. Furthermore, node mobility creates a continuously changing communication topology in which paths break and new one form dynamically. The routing table of each router in an adhoc network must be kept up-to-date. MANET uses Distance Vector or Link State algorithms which insure that the route to every host is always known. However, this approach must take into account the adhoc networks specific characteristics: dynamic topologies, limited bandwidth, energy constraints, limited physical security, ... Two main routing protocols categories are studied in this paper: proactive protocols (e.g. Optimised Link State Routing - OLSR) and reactive protocols (e.g. Ad hoc On Demand Distance Vector - AODV, Dynamic Source Routing - DSR). The proactive protocols are based on periodic exchanges that update the routing tables to all possible destinations, even if no traffic goes through. The reactive protocols are based on on-demand route discoveries that update routing tables only for the destination that has traffic going through. The present paper focuses on study and performance evaluation of these categories using NS2 simulations. We have considered qualitative and quantitative criteria. The first one concerns distributed operation, loop-freedom, security, sleep period operation. The second are used to assess performance of different routing protocols presented in this paper. We can list end-to-end data delay, jitter, packet delivery ratio, routing load, activity distribution. Comparative study will be presented with number of networking context consideration and the results show

  16. Cost-effectiveness of live oral attenuated human rotavirus vaccine in Tanzania.

    PubMed

    Ruhago, George M; Ngalesoni, Frida N; Robberstad, Bjarne; Norheim, Ole F

    2015-01-01

    Globally, diarrhoea is the second leading cause of morbidity and mortality, responsible for the annual loss of about 10% of the total global childhood disease burden. In Tanzania, Rotavirus infection is the major cause of severe diarrhoea and diarrhoeal mortality in children under five years. Immunisation can reduce the burden, and Tanzania added rotavirus vaccine to its national immunisation programme in January 2013. This study explores the cost effectiveness of introducing rotavirus vaccine within the Tanzania Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI). We quantified all health system implementation costs, including programme costs, to calculate the cost effectiveness of adding rotavirus immunisation to EPI and the existing provision of diarrhoea treatment (oral rehydration salts and intravenous fluids) to children. We used ingredients and step down costing methods. Cost and coverage data were collected in 2012 at one urban and one rural district hospital and a health centre in Tanzania. We used Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) as the outcome measure and estimated incremental costs and health outcomes using a Markov transition model with weekly cycles up to a five-year time horizon. The average unit cost per vaccine dose at 93% coverage is US$ 8.4, with marked difference between the urban facility US$ 5.2; and the rural facility US$ 9.8. RV1 vaccine added to current diarrhoea treatment is highly cost effective compared to diarrhoea treatment given alone, with incremental cost effectiveness ratio of US$ 112 per DALY averted, varying from US$ 80-218 in sensitivity analysis. The intervention approaches a 100% probability of being cost effective at a much lower level of willingness-to-pay than the US$609 per capita Tanzania gross domestic product (GDP). The combination of rotavirus immunisation with diarrhoea treatment is likely to be cost effective when willingness to pay for health is higher than USD 112 per DALY. Universal coverage of the vaccine will

  17. Social Security cost-of-living adjustments and the Consumer Price Index.

    PubMed

    Burdick, Clark; Fisher, Lynn

    2007-01-01

    OASDI benefits are indexed for inflation to protect beneficiaries from the loss of purchasing power implied by inflation. In the absence of such indexing, the purchasing power of Social Security benefits would be eroded as rising prices raise the cost of living. By statute, cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for Social Security benefits are calculated using the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). Some argue that this index does not accurately reflect the inflation experienced by the elderly population and should be changed to an elderly-specific price index such as the Experimental Consumer Price Index for Americans 62 Years of Age and Older, often referred to as the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E). Others argue that the measure of inflation underlying the COLA is technically biased, causing it to overestimate changes in the cost of living. This argument implies that current COLAs tend to increase, rather than merely maintain, the purchasing power of benefits over time. Potential bias in the CPI as a cost-of-living index arises from a number of sources, including incomplete accounting for the ability of consumers to substitute goods or change purchasing outlets in response to relative price changes. The BLS has constructed a new index called the Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U) that better accounts for those consumer adjustments. Price indexes are not true cost-of-living indexes, but approximations of cost-of-living indexes (COLI). The Bureau of Labor Statistics (2006a) explains the difference between the two: As it pertains to the CPI, the COLI for the current month is based on the answer to the following question: "What is the cost, at this month ' market prices, of achieving the standard of living actually attained in the base period?" This cost is a hypothetical expenditure-the lowest expenditure level necessary at this month's prices to achieve the

  18. Low-cost production of 6G-fructofuranosidase with high value-added astaxanthin by Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous.

    PubMed

    Ning, Yawei; Li, Qiang; Chen, Feng; Yang, Na; Jin, Zhengyu; Xu, Xueming

    2012-01-01

    The effects of medium composition and culture conditions on the production of (6)G-fructofuranosidase with value-added astaxanthin were investigated to reduce the capital cost of neo-fructooligosaccharides (neo-FOS) production by Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous. The sucrose and corn steep liquor (CSL) were found to be the optimal carbon source and nitrogen source, respectively. CSL and initial pH were selected as the critical factors using Plackett-Burman design. Maximum (6)G-fructofuranosidase 242.57 U/mL with 5.23 mg/L value-added astaxanthin was obtained at CSL 52.5 mL/L and pH 7.89 by central composite design. Neo-FOS yield could reach 238.12 g/L under the optimized medium conditions. Cost analysis suggested 66.3% of substrate cost was reduced compared with that before optimization. These results demonstrated that the optimized medium and culture conditions could significantly enhance the production of (6)G-fructofuranosidase with value-added astaxanthin and remarkably decrease the substrate cost, which opened up possibilities to produce neo-FOS industrially. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Cost and Consequences of Sedentary Living: New Battleground for an Old Enemy.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Booth, Frank W.; Chakravarthy, Manu V.

    2002-01-01

    This report itemizes the costs and consequences of sedentary living, providing cost reasons to fight a war on sedentary lifestyles. It begins by explaining that 70 percent of U.S. adults are sedentary (undertaking no leisure time physical activity or less than 30 minutes of physical activity per day), and it notes how sedentary living increases…

  20. Cluster Based Location-Aided Routing Protocol for Large Scale Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Yi; Dong, Liang; Liang, Taotao; Yang, Xinyu; Zhang, Deyun

    Routing algorithms with low overhead, stable link and independence of the total number of nodes in the network are essential for the design and operation of the large-scale wireless mobile ad hoc networks (MANET). In this paper, we develop and analyze the Cluster Based Location-Aided Routing Protocol for MANET (C-LAR), a scalable and effective routing algorithm for MANET. C-LAR runs on top of an adaptive cluster cover of the MANET, which can be created and maintained using, for instance, the weight-based distributed algorithm. This algorithm takes into consideration the node degree, mobility, relative distance, battery power and link stability of mobile nodes. The hierarchical structure stabilizes the end-to-end communication paths and improves the networks' scalability such that the routing overhead does not become tremendous in large scale MANET. The clusterheads form a connected virtual backbone in the network, determine the network's topology and stability, and provide an efficient approach to minimizing the flooding traffic during route discovery and speeding up this process as well. Furthermore, it is fascinating and important to investigate how to control the total number of nodes participating in a routing establishment process so as to improve the network layer performance of MANET. C-LAR is to use geographical location information provided by Global Position System to assist routing. The location information of destination node is used to predict a smaller rectangle, isosceles triangle, or circle request zone, which is selected according to the relative location of the source and the destination, that covers the estimated region in which the destination may be located. Thus, instead of searching the route in the entire network blindly, C-LAR confines the route searching space into a much smaller estimated range. Simulation results have shown that C-LAR outperforms other protocols significantly in route set up time, routing overhead, mean delay and packet

  1. Health care costs for the evaluation, surgery, and follow-up care of living kidney donors.

    PubMed

    Habbous, Steven; Sarma, Sisira; Barnieh, Lianne; McArthur, Eric; Klarenbach, Scott; Manns, Braden; Begen, Mehmet A; Lentine, Krista L; Garg, Amit X

    2018-04-19

    The health care costs to evaluate, perform surgery, and follow a living kidney donor for the year after donation are poorly described. We obtained information on the health care costs of 1099 living kidney donors between April 1, 2004 and March 31, 2014 from Ontario, Canada using comprehensive health care administrative databases. We estimated the cost of 3 periods of the living donation process: the predonation evaluation period (start of evaluation until the day before donation), perioperative period (day of donation until 30-days postdonation), and 1 year of follow-up period (after perioperative period until 1-year postdonation). We analyzed data for donors and healthy matched nondonor controls using regression-based methods to estimate the incremental cost of living donation. Costs are presented from the perspective of the Canadian health care payer (2017 $CAD). The incremental health care costs (compared with controls) for the evaluation, perioperative, and follow-up periods were $3,596 (95% confidence interval (CI) $3,350-$3,842), $11,694 ($11,415-$11,973), and $1,011 ($793-$1,230), respectively, totalling $16,290 ($15,814-$16,767). The evaluation cost was higher if the intended recipient started dialysis part-way through the donor evaluation [$886 ($19, $1,752)]. The perioperative cost varied across transplant centers (p<0.0001). While substantial costs of living donor care are related to the nephrectomy procedure, comprehensive assessment of costs must also include the evaluation and follow-up periods. These estimates are informative for planning future work to support and expand living donation and transplantation, and directing efforts to improve the cost efficiency of living donor care.

  2. Cost-utility analysis of memantine extended release added to cholinesterase inhibitors compared to cholinesterase inhibitor monotherapy for the treatment of moderate-to-severe dementia of the Alzheimer's type in the US.

    PubMed

    Saint-Laurent Thibault, Catherine; Özer Stillman, Ipek; Chen, Stephanie; Getsios, Denis; Proskorovsky, Irina; Hernandez, Luis; Dixit, Shailja

    2015-01-01

    This study evaluates the cost-effectiveness of memantine extended release (ER) as an add-on therapy to acetylcholinesterase inhibitor (AChEI) [combination therapy] for treatment of patients with moderate-to-severe Alzheimer's disease (AD) from both a healthcare payer and a societal perspective over 3 years when compared to AChEI monotherapy in the US. A phase III trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of memantine ER for treatment of AD patients taking an AChEI. The analysis assessed the long-term costs and health outcomes using an individual patient simulation in which AD progression is modeled in terms of cognition, behavior, and functioning changes. Input parameters are based on patient-level trial data, published literature, and publicly available data sources. Changes in anti-psychotic medication use are incorporated based on a published retrospective cohort study. Costs include drug acquisition and monitoring, total AD-related medical care, and informal care associated with caregiver time. Incremental cost-utility ratio (ICUR), life years, care time for caregiver, time in community and institution, time on anti-psychotics, time by disease severity, and time without severe symptoms are reported. Costs and health outcomes are discounted at 3% per annum. Considering a societal perspective over 3 years, this analysis shows that memantine ER combined with an AChEI provides better clinical outcomes and lower costs than AChEI monotherapy. Discounted average savings were estimated at $18,355 and $20,947 per patient and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) increased by an average of 0.12 and 0.13 from a societal and healthcare payer perspective, respectively. Patients on combination therapy spent an average of 4 months longer living at home and spend less time in moderate-severe and severe stages of the disease. Combination therapy for patients with moderate-to-severe AD is a cost-effective treatment compared to AChEI monotherapy in the US.

  3. An Introduction to Cost-of-Living Adjustments in Public Retirement Plans: Details Matter

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jennings, Penelope R.; Jennings, William P.; Phillips, G. Michael

    2016-01-01

    While financial planning students are expected to be able to understand client retirement plans, subtle differences in cost-of-living adjustments can have major impact on the success of client retirement plans. This teaching note compares the cost-of-living adjustments in the largest government sponsored retirement systems and a hypothetical…

  4. Women's perspectives regarding subcutaneous injections, costs and live birth rates in IVF.

    PubMed

    Musters, A M; de Bekker-Grob, E W; Mochtar, M H; van der Veen, F; van Mello, N M

    2011-09-01

    The addition of recombinant LH (rLH) to controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) shows a beneficial effect on ongoing pregnancy rates in poor responder women, with an increase of ongoing pregnancy rate. Next to this possible beneficial effect, there are two potential drawbacks of adding rLH to COH; women have to administer extra injections, and daily rLH injections generate additional costs. We therefore investigated women's perspectives on an additional injection of rLH with respect to live birth rates (LBR) and out-of-pocket costs in a discrete choice experiment. Women eligible for IVF were asked to choose between treatments that differed in LBR after one IVF cycle, the amount of self-administered injections and out-of-pocket costs or reimbursement. The relative weights that women place on these attributes were estimated with a logistic regression model. To test for heterogeneity of preferences among women, patient characteristics were included in the model. Two-hundred and thirty-four women were asked to participate in the study. In total, 223 women responded (response rate 95%) and 206 questionnaires were analysed. An increase of one daily injection did not alter women's treatment preference. LBR and costs did have a significant (P < 0.001) impact on women's choice of IVF treatment. Patient characteristics significantly influenced the effect of costs on women's preferences. One extra daily injection will not cause a woman to refrain from a certain IVF treatment. However, to compensate for the out-of-pocket costs of this extra daily injection, the expected LBR should at least be 6%.

  5. SPAR: a security- and power-aware routing protocol for wireless ad hoc and sensor networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Oberoi, Vikram; Chigan, Chunxiao

    2005-05-01

    Wireless Ad Hoc and Sensor Networks (WAHSNs) are vulnerable to extensive attacks as well as severe resource constraints. To fulfill the security needs, many security enhancements have been proposed. Like wise, from resource constraint perspective, many power aware schemes have been proposed to save the battery power. However, we observe that for the severely resource limited and extremely vulnerable WAHSNs, taking security or power (or any other resource) alone into consideration for protocol design is rather inadequate toward the truly "secure-and-useful" WAHSNs. For example, from resource constraint perspective, we identify one of the potential problems, the Security-Capable-Congestion (SCC) behavior, for the WAHSNs routing protocols where only the security are concerned. On the other hand, the design approach where only scarce resource is concerned, such as many power-aware WAHSNs protocols, leaves security unconsidered and is undesirable to many WAHSNs application scenarios. Motivated by these observations, we propose a co-design approach, where both the high security and effective resource consumption are targeted for WAHSNs protocol design. Specifically, we propose a novel routing protocol, Security- and Power- Aware Routing (SPAR) protocol based on this co-design approach. In SPAR, the routing decisions are made based on both security and power as routing criteria. The idea of the SPAR mechanism is routing protocol independent and therefore can be broadly integrated into any of the existing WAHSNs routing protocols. The simulation results show that SPAR outperforms the WAHSNs routing protocols where security or power alone is considered, significantly. This research finding demonstrates the proposed security- and resource- aware co-design approach is promising towards the truly "secure-and-useful" WAHSNs.

  6. The Cost-Effectiveness of Replacing the Bottom Quartile of Novice Teachers through Value-Added Teacher Assessment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yeh, Stuart S.; Ritter, Joseph

    2009-01-01

    A cost-effectiveness analysis was conducted of Gordon, Kane, and Staiger's (2006) proposal to raise student achievement by identifying and replacing the bottom quartile of novice teachers, using value-added assessment of teacher performance. The cost effectiveness of this proposal was compared to the cost effectiveness of voucher programs, charter…

  7. Fuzzy Logic-based Intelligent Scheme for Enhancing QoS of Vertical Handover Decision in Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Azzali, F.; Ghazali, O.; Omar, M. H.

    2017-08-01

    The design of next generation networks in various technologies under the “Anywhere, Anytime” paradigm offers seamless connectivity across different coverage. A conventional algorithm such as RSSThreshold algorithm, that only uses the received strength signal (RSS) as a metric, will decrease handover performance regarding handover latency, delay, packet loss, and handover failure probability. Moreover, the RSS-based algorithm is only suitable for horizontal handover decision to examine the quality of service (QoS) compared to the vertical handover decision in advanced technologies. In the next generation network, vertical handover can be started based on the user’s convenience or choice rather than connectivity reasons. This study proposes a vertical handover decision algorithm that uses a Fuzzy Logic (FL) algorithm, to increase QoS performance in heterogeneous vehicular ad-hoc networks (VANET). The study uses network simulator 2.29 (NS 2.29) along with the mobility traffic network and generator to implement simulation scenarios and topologies. This helps the simulation to achieve a realistic VANET mobility scenario. The required analysis on the performance of QoS in the vertical handover can thus be conducted. The proposed Fuzzy Logic algorithm shows improvement over the conventional algorithm (RSSThreshold) in the average percentage of handover QoS whereby it achieves 20%, 21% and 13% improvement on handover latency, delay, and packet loss respectively. This is achieved through triggering a process in layer two and three that enhances the handover performance.

  8. 37 CFR 381.10 - Cost of living adjustment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... determined by the Consumer Price Index (all consumers, all items) during the period from the most recent Index published prior to December 1, 2006, to the most recent Index published prior to December 1, 2007... the cost of living during the period from the most recent index published prior to the previous notice...

  9. 37 CFR 253.10 - Cost of living adjustment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... determined by the Consumer Price Index (all consumers, all items) during the period from the most recent Index published prior to December 1, 2002, to the most recent Index published prior to December 1, 2003... cost of living during the period from the most recent index published prior to the previous notice, to...

  10. 37 CFR 381.10 - Cost of living adjustment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... determined by the Consumer Price Index (all consumers, all items) during the period from the most recent Index published prior to December 1, 2006, to the most recent Index published prior to December 1, 2007... the cost of living during the period from the most recent index published prior to the previous notice...

  11. 37 CFR 253.10 - Cost of living adjustment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... determined by the Consumer Price Index (all consumers, all items) during the period from the most recent Index published prior to December 1, 2002, to the most recent Index published prior to December 1, 2003... cost of living during the period from the most recent index published prior to the previous notice, to...

  12. 37 CFR 253.10 - Cost of living adjustment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... determined by the Consumer Price Index (all consumers, all items) during the period from the most recent Index published prior to December 1, 2002, to the most recent Index published prior to December 1, 2003... cost of living during the period from the most recent index published prior to the previous notice, to...

  13. 37 CFR 253.10 - Cost of living adjustment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... determined by the Consumer Price Index (all consumers, all items) during the period from the most recent Index published prior to December 1, 2002, to the most recent Index published prior to December 1, 2003... cost of living during the period from the most recent index published prior to the previous notice, to...

  14. 37 CFR 381.10 - Cost of living adjustment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... determined by the Consumer Price Index (all consumers, all items) during the period from the most recent Index published prior to December 1, 2006, to the most recent Index published prior to December 1, 2007... the cost of living during the period from the most recent index published prior to the previous notice...

  15. An Experimental Investigation of Computer Program Development Approaches and Computer Programming Metrics.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1979-12-01

    team progranming in reducing software dleveloup- ment costs relative to ad hoc approaches and improving software product quality relative to...are interpreted as demonstrating the advantages of disciplined team programming in reducing software development costs relative to ad hoc approaches...is due oartialty to the cost and imoracticality of a valiI experimental setup within a oroauct ion environment. Thus the question remains, are

  16. 37 CFR 253.10 - Cost of living adjustment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... Librarian of Congress shall publish in the Federal Register a notice of the change in the cost of living as.... On each December 1 thereafter the Librarian of Congress shall publish a notice of the change in the... published pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section, the Librarian of Congress shall publish in the Federal...

  17. Does It or Doesn't It? Geographic Differences and the Costs of Living

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zimmerman, Julie N.; Ham, Sunny; Frank, Sarah Michelle

    2008-01-01

    The relative cost of living in rural areas has long been of interest to rural sociologists. Today, the popular perception is that rural prices are lower. This study examines geographic differences in the costs of living in Kentucky. The results indicate that, contrary to the popular perception, when prices of the same products and services were…

  18. Lentiviral haemopoietic stem-cell gene therapy in early-onset metachromatic leukodystrophy: an ad-hoc analysis of a non-randomised, open-label, phase 1/2 trial.

    PubMed

    Sessa, Maria; Lorioli, Laura; Fumagalli, Francesca; Acquati, Serena; Redaelli, Daniela; Baldoli, Cristina; Canale, Sabrina; Lopez, Ignazio D; Morena, Francesco; Calabria, Andrea; Fiori, Rossana; Silvani, Paolo; Rancoita, Paola M V; Gabaldo, Michela; Benedicenti, Fabrizio; Antonioli, Gigliola; Assanelli, Andrea; Cicalese, Maria Pia; Del Carro, Ubaldo; Sora, Maria Grazia Natali; Martino, Sabata; Quattrini, Angelo; Montini, Eugenio; Di Serio, Clelia; Ciceri, Fabio; Roncarolo, Maria Grazia; Aiuti, Alessandro; Naldini, Luigi; Biffi, Alessandra

    2016-07-30

    Metachromatic leukodystrophy (a deficiency of arylsulfatase A [ARSA]) is a fatal demyelinating lysosomal disease with no approved treatment. We aimed to assess the long-term outcomes in a cohort of patients with early-onset metachromatic leukodystrophy who underwent haemopoietic stem-cell gene therapy (HSC-GT). This is an ad-hoc analysis of data from an ongoing, non-randomised, open-label, single-arm phase 1/2 trial, in which we enrolled patients with a molecular and biochemical diagnosis of metachromatic leukodystrophy (presymptomatic late-infantile or early-juvenile disease or early-symptomatic early-juvenile disease) at the Paediatric Clinical Research Unit, Ospedale San Raffaele, in Milan. Trial participants received HSC-GT, which consisted of the infusion of autologous HSCs transduced with a lentiviral vector encoding ARSA cDNA, after exposure-targeted busulfan conditioning. The primary endpoints of the trial are safety (toxicity, absence of engraftment failure or delayed haematological reconstitution, and safety of lentiviral vector-tranduced cell infusion) and efficacy (improvement in Gross Motor Function Measure [GMFM] score relative to untreated historical controls, and ARSA activity, 24 months post-treatment) of HSC-GT. For this ad-hoc analysis, we assessed safety and efficacy outcomes in all patients who had received treatment and been followed up for at least 18 months post-treatment on June 1, 2015. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01560182. Between April, 2010, and February, 2013, we had enrolled nine children with a diagnosis of early-onset disease (six had late-infantile disease, two had early-juvenile disease, and one had early-onset disease that could not be definitively classified). At the time of analysis all children had survived, with a median follow-up of 36 months (range 18-54). The most commonly reported adverse events were cytopenia (reported in all patients) and mucositis of different grades of severity (in five

  19. 37 CFR 381.10 - Cost of living adjustment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... determined by the Consumer Price Index (all consumers, all items) during the period from the most recent Index published prior to December 1, 2012, to the most recent Index published prior to December 1, 2013... change in the cost of living during the period from the most recent index published prior to the previous...

  20. 37 CFR 381.10 - Cost of living adjustment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... determined by the Consumer Price Index (all consumers, all items) during the period from the most recent Index published prior to December 1, 2012, to the most recent Index published prior to December 1, 2013... change in the cost of living during the period from the most recent index published prior to the previous...

  1. Unsupervised algorithms for intrusion detection and identification in wireless ad hoc sensor networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hortos, William S.

    2009-05-01

    In previous work by the author, parameters across network protocol layers were selected as features in supervised algorithms that detect and identify certain intrusion attacks on wireless ad hoc sensor networks (WSNs) carrying multisensor data. The algorithms improved the residual performance of the intrusion prevention measures provided by any dynamic key-management schemes and trust models implemented among network nodes. The approach of this paper does not train algorithms on the signature of known attack traffic, but, instead, the approach is based on unsupervised anomaly detection techniques that learn the signature of normal network traffic. Unsupervised learning does not require the data to be labeled or to be purely of one type, i.e., normal or attack traffic. The approach can be augmented to add any security attributes and quantified trust levels, established during data exchanges among nodes, to the set of cross-layer features from the WSN protocols. A two-stage framework is introduced for the security algorithms to overcome the problems of input size and resource constraints. The first stage is an unsupervised clustering algorithm which reduces the payload of network data packets to a tractable size. The second stage is a traditional anomaly detection algorithm based on a variation of support vector machines (SVMs), whose efficiency is improved by the availability of data in the packet payload. In the first stage, selected algorithms are adapted to WSN platforms to meet system requirements for simple parallel distributed computation, distributed storage and data robustness. A set of mobile software agents, acting like an ant colony in securing the WSN, are distributed at the nodes to implement the algorithms. The agents move among the layers involved in the network response to the intrusions at each active node and trustworthy neighborhood, collecting parametric values and executing assigned decision tasks. This minimizes the need to move large amounts

  2. A Design for Living: The PARC Plan. Report of the PARC Ad Hoc Planning Committee for Resolution II, October 19, 1974.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Citizens, Harrisburg.

    Presented is the PARC (Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Citizens) Plan which resulted from a 3-month survey of Pennsylvania's institutional system and which was designed to improve living conditions and programs of state schools and hospitals serving the mentally retarded. Detailed are specific recommendations for the achievement of annual…

  3. Cost of fertility treatment and live birth outcome in women of different ages and BMI.

    PubMed

    Pandey, Shilpi; McLernon, David J; Scotland, Graham; Mollison, Jill; Wordsworth, Sarah; Bhattacharya, Siladitya

    2014-10-10

    What is the impact of different age and BMI groups on total investigation and treatment costs in women attending a secondary/tertiary care fertility clinic? Women in their early to mid-30s and women with normal BMI had higher cumulative investigation and treatment costs, but also higher probability of live birth. Female age and BMI have been used as criteria for rationing publically funded fertility treatments. Population-based data on the costs of investigating and treating infertility are lacking. A retrospective cohort study of 2463 women was conducted in a single secondary/tertiary care fertility clinic in Aberdeen, Scotland from 1998 to 2008. Participants included all women living in a defined geographical area referred from primary care to a specialized fertility clinic over an 11-year period. Women were followed up for 5 years or until live birth if this occurred sooner. Mean discounted cumulative National Health Service costs (expressed in 2010/2011 GBP) of fertility investigations, treatments (including all types of assisted reproduction), and pregnancy (including delivery episode) and neonatal admissions were calculated and summarized by age (≤ 30, 31-35, 36-40, >40 years) and BMI groupings (<18.50, 18.50-24.99 (normal BMI), 25.00-29.99, 30.00-34.99, ≥ 35.00 kg/m(2)). Further multivariate modelling was carried out to estimate the impact of age and BMI on investigation and treatment costs and live birth outcome, adjusting for covariates predictive of the treatment pathway and live birth. Of the 2463 women referred, 1258 (51.1%) had a live birth within 5 years, with 694 (55.1%) of these being natural conceptions. The live birth rate was highest among women in the youngest age group (64.3%), and lowest in those aged >40 years (13.4%). Overall live birth rates were generally lower in women with BMI >30 kg/m(2). The total costs of investigations were generally highest among women younger than 30 years (£491 in those with normal BMI), whilst treatment

  4. Infrared spectra of two isomers of protonated carbonyl sulfide (HOCS+ and HSCO+) and t-HOCS in solid para-hydrogen.

    PubMed

    Tsuge, Masashi; Lee, Yuan-Pern

    2016-10-28

    We report infrared (IR) spectra of HOCS + , HSCO + , t-HOCS, and other species produced on electron bombardment of a mixture of carbonyl sulfide (OCS) and para-hydrogen (p-H 2 ) during deposition at 3.2 K. After maintenance of the matrix in darkness for 15 h, the intensities of absorption features of HOCS + at 2945.9 (ν 1 ), 1875.3 (ν 2 ), and 1041.9 (ν 3 ) cm -1 and those of HSCO + at 2506.9 (ν 1 ) and 2074.2 (ν 2 ) cm -1 decreased through neutralization with trapped electrons. Lines observed at 3563.4, 1394.8, and 1199.0 cm -1 , which decreased slightly in intensity after maintenance in darkness and were nearly depleted after irradiation at 373 nm, are assigned to a t-HOCS radical. The corresponding spectra of their 13 C- and D-isotopologues were observed. The IR spectra of HSCO + and t-HOCS and those of modes ν 2 and ν 3 of HOCS + are new. The assignments were made according to the expected chemical behavior and a comparison of experimental and calculated wavenumbers and 13 C- and D-isotopic shifts. The wavenumber of the OH stretching mode (2945.9 cm -1 ) of HOCS + in solid p-H 2 is significantly red-shifted from that (3435.16 cm -1 ) reported for gaseous HOCS + ; this shift is attributed to partial sharing of a proton between OCS and H 2 . The corresponding p-H 2 induced shift is small in HSCO + because of a much weaker interaction between HSCO + and H 2 .

  5. 20 CFR 225.42 - Notice of the percentage amount of a cost-of-living increase.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 20 Employees' Benefits 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Notice of the percentage amount of a cost-of-living increase. 225.42 Section 225.42 Employees' Benefits RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD REGULATIONS UNDER THE RAILROAD RETIREMENT ACT PRIMARY INSURANCE AMOUNT DETERMINATIONS Cost-of-Living Increases § 225.42...

  6. 20 CFR 404.278 - Additional cost-of-living increase.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... Section 404.278 Employees' Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION FEDERAL OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS AND DISABILITY INSURANCE (1950- ) Computing Primary Insurance Amounts Cost-Of-Living Increases § 404.278...) Measuring period for the additional increase—(1) Beginning. To compute the additional increase, we begin...

  7. Longitudinal study of effects of patient characteristics on direct costs in Alzheimer disease.

    PubMed

    Zhu, C W; Scarmeas, N; Torgan, R; Albert, M; Brandt, J; Blacker, D; Sano, M; Stern, Y

    2006-09-26

    To estimate long-term trajectories of direct cost of caring for patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) and examine the effects of patients' characteristics on cost longitudinally. The sample is drawn from the Predictors Study, a large, multicenter cohort of patients with probable AD, prospectively followed up annually for up to 7 years in three university-based AD centers in the United States. Random effects models estimated the effects of patients' clinical and sociodemographic characteristics on direct cost of care. Direct cost included cost associated with medical and nonmedical care. Clinical characteristics included cognitive status (measured by Mini-Mental State Examination), functional capacity (measured by Blessed Dementia Rating Scale [BDRS]), psychotic symptoms, behavioral problems, depressive symptoms, extrapyramidal signs, and comorbidities. The model also controlled for patients' sex, age, and living arrangements. Total direct cost increased from approximately 9,239 dollars per patient per year at baseline, when all patients were at the early stages of the disease, to 19,925 dollars by year 4. After controlling for other variables, a one-point increase in the BDRS score increased total direct cost by 7.7%. One more comorbid condition increased total direct cost by 14.3%. Total direct cost was 20.8% lower for patients living at home compared with those living in an institutional setting. Total direct cost of caring for patients with Alzheimer disease increased substantially over time. Much of the cost increases were explained by patients' clinical and demographic variables. Comorbidities and functional capacity were associated with higher direct cost over time.

  8. Outcomes and Costs of Community Living: Semi-Independent Living and Fully Staffed Group Homes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Felce, David; Perry, Jonathan; Romeo, Renee; Robertson, Janet; Meek, Andrea; Emerson, Eric; Knapp, Martin

    2008-01-01

    In a matched-groups design, costs and quality of life outcomes for adults with intellectual disabilities with relatively low support needs were compared between those in fully staffed group homes (n = 35) and in semi-independent living (n = 35). Data were collected on participant characteristics, setting organization, various lifestyle outcomes,…

  9. Estimating HIV Incidence during Pregnancy and Knowledge of Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission with an Ad Hoc Analysis of Potential Cofactors.

    PubMed

    Egbe, Thomas Obinchemti; Tazinya, Rose-Mary Asong; Halle-Ekane, Gregory Edie; Egbe, Eta-Nkongho; Achidi, Eric Akum

    2016-01-01

    We determined the incidence of HIV seroconversion during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy and ad hoc potential cofactors associated with HIV seroconversion after having an HIV-negative result antenatally. We also studied knowledge of PMTCT among pregnant women in seven health facilities in Fako Division, South West Region, Cameroon. During the period between September 12 and December 4, 2011, we recruited a cohort of 477 HIV-negative pregnant women by cluster sampling. Data collection was with a pretested interviewer-administered questionnaire. Sociodemographic information, knowledge of PMTCT, and methods of HIV prevention were obtained from the study population and we did Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) for HIV. The incidence rate of HIV seroconversion during pregnancy was 6.8/100 woman-years. Ninety percent of the participants did not use condoms throughout pregnancy but had a good knowledge of PMTCT of HIV. Only 31.9% of participants knew their HIV status before the booking visit and 33% did not know the HIV status of their partners. The incidence rate of HIV seroconversion in the Fako Division, Cameroon, was 6.8/100 woman-years. No risk factors associated with HIV seroconversion were identified among the study participants because of lack of power to do so.

  10. The Kuroshio Extension low-frequency variability analyzed with altimeter data through an ad hoc composite index

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pierini, Stefano; Gentile, Vittorio; de Ruggiero, Paola; Pietranera, Luca

    2017-04-01

    The Kuroshio Extension (KE) low-frequency variability (LFV) is analyzed with the satellite altimeter data distributed by AVISO from January 1993 to November 2015 through a new ad hoc composite index [1] that links the mean latitudinal position L of the KE jet and an integrated wavelet amplitude A measuring the high-frequency variability (HFV) of the KE path. This approach allows one to follow the KE evolution as an orbit in the (L,A) plane, as typically done in dynamical systems theory. Three intervals, I1 (1993-1998), I2 (1998-2006) and I3 (2006-November 2015) are separately analyzed also with sea surface height (SSH) maps. In I1 and I3, L and A are mostly anti-correlated and a recharging phase (characterized by a weak convoluted jet experiencing a rapid increase of the HFV) begins when negative SSH anomalies, remotely generated by the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, reach the KE region. On the other hand, in I2 the KE evolution is described by a hysteresis loop: this starts with a weak jet state followed by a recharging phase leading, in turn, to a persistent two-meander state, to its progressive and rapid erosion and, eventually, to the reestablishment of a weak jet state. This loop is found to correspond quite closely to the highly nonlinear intrinsic relaxation oscillation obtained in numerical process studies [1,2]. This supports the hypothesis that the KE LFV may have been controlled, during I2, by an intrinsic oceanic mode of variability. [1] Pierini S., 2015. J. Climate, 28, 5873-5881. [2] Pierini S., 2006. J. Phys. Oceanogr., 36, 1605-1625.

  11. A cost per live birth comparison of HMG and rFSH randomized trials.

    PubMed

    Connolly, Mark; De Vrieze, Kathleen; Ombelet, Willem; Schneider, Dirk; Currie, Craig

    2008-12-01

    To help inform healthcare treatment practices and funding decisions, an economic evaluation was conducted to compare the two leading gonadotrophins used for IVF in Belgium. Based on the results of a recently published meta-analysis, a simulated decision tree model was constructed with four states: (i) fresh cycle, (ii) cryopreserved cycle, (iii) live birth and (iv) treatment withdrawal. Gonadotrophin costs were based on highly purified human menopausal gonadotrophin (HP-HMG; Menopur) and recombinant FSH (rFSH) alpha (Gonal-F). After one fresh and one cryopreserved cycle the average treatment cost with HP-HMG was lower than with rFSH (HP-HMG euro3635; rFSH euro4103). The average cost saving per person started on HP-HMG when compared with rFSH was euro468. Additionally, the average costs per live birth of HP-HMG and rFSH were found to be significantly different: HP-HMG euro9996; rFSH euro13,009 (P < 0.0001). HP-HMG remained cost-saving even after key parameters in the model were varied in the probabilistic sensitivity analysis. Treatment with HP-HMG was found to be the dominant treatment strategy in IVF because of improved live birth rates and lower costs. Within a fixed healthcare budget, the cost-savings achieved using HP-HMG would allow for the delivery of additional IVF cycles.

  12. Selecting cost-effective areas for restoration of ecosystem services.

    PubMed

    Adame, M F; Hermoso, V; Perhans, K; Lovelock, C E; Herrera-Silveira, J A

    2015-04-01

    Selection of areas for restoration should be based on cost-effectiveness analysis to attain the maximum benefit with a limited budget and overcome the traditional ad hoc allocation of funds for restoration projects. Restoration projects need to be planned on the basis of ecological knowledge and economic and social constraints. We devised a novel approach for selecting cost-effective areas for restoration on the basis of biodiversity and potential provision of 3 ecosystem services: carbon storage, water depuration, and coastal protection. We used Marxan, a spatial prioritization tool, to balance the provision of ecosystem services against the cost of restoration. We tested this approach in a mangrove ecosystem in the Caribbean. Our approach efficiently selected restoration areas that at low cost were compatible with biodiversity targets and that maximized the provision of one or more ecosystem services. Choosing areas for restoration of mangroves on the basis carbon storage potential, largely guaranteed the restoration of biodiversity and other ecosystem services. © 2014 Society for Conservation Biology.

  13. Lived experience in teaching mental health nursing: issues of fear and power.

    PubMed

    Happell, Brenda; Bennetts, Wanda; Harris, Scott; Platania-Phung, Chris; Tohotoa, Jenny; Byrne, Louise; Wynaden, Dianne

    2015-02-01

    Australian mental health policy clearly articulates recovery focus as the underpinning of mental health services. Barriers to achieving a recovery focus are identified in the literature, with negative attitudes of health professionals receiving particular attention. The involvement of people with lived experience of significant mental health challenges and mental health service use is essential to enhancing more positive attitudes. Lived-experience involvement in the education of nurses is evident; however, it is generally limited and implemented on an ad hoc basis. Overall, there is a paucity of literature on this topic. A qualitative exploratory study was undertaken to elicit the views and perceptions of nurse academics and lived-experience educators about the inclusion of lived experience in mental health nursing education. One major theme to emerge from the research was issues of fear and power, which included three subthemes: facing fear, demystifying mental illness, and issues of power. Lived-experience involvement has an important role to play in the education of nurses in addressing fear and demystifying the experience of mental illness. The power that lived-experience educators exercised in their roles varied considerably, and for many, was limited. Therefore, the effectiveness of lived-experience involvement requires a more equitable distribution of power. © 2014 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

  14. Health-based risk adjustment: improving the pharmacy-based cost group model by adding diagnostic cost groups.

    PubMed

    Prinsze, Femmeke J; van Vliet, René C J A

    Since 1991, risk-adjusted premium subsidies have existed in the Dutch social health insurance sector, which covered about two-thirds of the population until 2006. In 2002, pharmacy-based cost groups (PCGs) were included in the demographic risk adjustment model, which improved the goodness-of-fit, as measured by the R2, to 11.5%. The model's R2 reached 22.8% in 2004, when inpatient diagnostic information was added in the form of diagnostic cost groups (DCGs). PCGs and DCGs appear to be complementary in their ability to predict future costs. PCGs particularly improve the R2 for outpatient expenses, whereas DCGs improve the R2 for inpatient expenses. In 2006, this system of risk-adjusted premium subsidies was extended to cover the entire population.

  15. The importance of indirect costs in primary cardiovascular disease prevention: can we save lives and money with statins?

    PubMed

    Grover, Steven A; Ho, Vivian; Lavoie, Frédéric; Coupal, Louis; Zowall, Hanna; Pilote, Louise

    2003-02-10

    The losses in productivity due to cardiovascular disease (CVD) are substantial but rarely considered in health economic analyses. We compared the cost-effectiveness of lipid level modification in the primary prevention of CVD with and without these indirect costs. We used the Cardiovascular Life Expectancy Model to estimate the long-term benefits and cost-effectiveness of lipid level modification with atorvastatin calcium, including 28% and 38% reductions in total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, respectively, and a 5.5% increase in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level. The direct costs included all medical care costs associated with CVD. The indirect costs represented the loss of employment income and the decreased value of housekeeping services after different manifestations of CVD. All costs were expressed in 2000 Canadian dollars. When only direct medical care costs were considered, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratios for lifelong therapy with atorvastatin calcium, 10 mg/d, were generally positive, ranging from a few thousand to nearly $20 000 per year of life saved. When the societal point of view was adopted and indirect costs were included, the total costs were generally negative, representing substantial cost savings (up to $50 000) and increased life expectancy for most groups of individuals. Lipid therapy with statins can reduce CVD morbidity and mortality as demonstrated in a number of clinical trials. Adding the indirect CVD costs associated with productivity losses at work and home can result in forecasted cost savings to society as a whole such that lipid therapy could potentially save lives and money.

  16. Adding smoking to the Fardal model of cost-effectiveness for the life-time treatment of periodontal diseases.

    PubMed

    Fardal, Øystein; Grytten, Jostein; Martin, John; Ellingsen, Stig; Fardal, Patrick; Heasman, Peter; Linden, Gerard J

    2018-05-16

    Little is known about the financial costs that smoking adds to the life-time treatment of periodontal disease. The total life-time cost of periodontal treatment was modelled using data from private periodontal practice. The costs of initial and supportive therapy, re-treatment and tooth replacements (with bridgework or implants) were identified using average dental charges from the American Dental Association survey. Smoking costs at $6 and $10 for 20 cigarettes were compared to the costs of life-time periodontal treatment for stable and unstable compliant patients. Smoking added 8.8% to the financial cost of the life-time cost of periodontal therapy in stable maintenance patients, 40.1% in patients who needed one extra maintenance visit and 71.4% in patients who needed two extra maintenance visits per year in addition to added re-treatment. The cost of smoking far exceeded the cost of periodontal treatment; For patients who smoked 10 to 40 cigarettes per day at the cost of $6 or $10 a pack, the cost of smoking exceeded the cost of life-time periodontal treatment by between 2.7 and 17.9 times. Smoking 40 cigarettes at $10 a packet for 3.4 years would pay for the entire life-time cost of periodontal treatment. Smoking adds considerable extra financial costs to the life-time treatment of periodontal diseases. The cost of smoking itself exceeds the cost of periodontal therapy. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. © 2018 American Academy of Periodontology.

  17. Monitoring of slope-instabilities and deformations with Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems (MEMS) in wireless ad-hoc Sensor Networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Arnhardt, C.; Fernández-Steeger, T. M.; Azzam, R.

    2009-04-01

    In most mountainous regions, landslides represent a major threat to human life, properties and infrastructures. Nowadays existing landslide monitoring systems are often characterized by high efforts in terms of purchase, installation, maintenance, manpower and material. In addition (or because of this) only small areas or selective points of the endangered zone can be observed by the system. Therefore the improvement of existing and the development of new monitoring and warning systems are of high relevance. The joint project "Sensor based Landslide Early Warning Systems" (SLEWS) deals with the development of a prototypic Alarm- and Early Warning system (EWS) for different types of landslides using low-cost micro-sensors (MEMS) integrated in a wireless sensor network (WSN). Modern so called Ad-Hoc, Multi-Hop wireless sensor networks (WSN) are characterized by a self organizing and self-healing capacity of the system (autonomous systems). The network consists of numerous individual and own energy-supply operating sensor nodes, that can send data packages from their measuring devices (here: MEMS) over other nodes (Multi-Hop) to a collection point (gateway). The gateway provides the interface to central processing and data retrieval units (PC, Laptop or server) outside the network. In order to detect and monitor the different landslide processes (like fall, topple, spreading or sliding) 3D MEMS capacitive sensors made from single silicon crystals and glass were chosen to measure acceleration, tilting and altitude changes. Based on the so called MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) technology, the sensors combine very small mechanical and electronic units, sensing elements and transducers on a small microchip. The mass production of such type of sensors allows low cost applications in different areas (like automobile industries, medicine, and automation technology). Apart from the small and so space saving size and the low costs another advantage is the energy

  18. The combined effect of age and basal follicle-stimulating hormone on the cost of a live birth at assisted reproductive technology.

    PubMed

    Henne, Melinda B; Stegmann, Barbara J; Neithardt, Adrienne B; Catherino, William H; Armstrong, Alicia Y; Kao, Tzu-Cheg; Segars, James H

    2008-01-01

    To predict the cost of a delivery following assisted reproductive technologies (ART). Cost analysis based on retrospective chart analysis. University-based ART program. Women aged >or=26 and of fresh, nondonor ART. Logit regression using a fractional polynomial model of age and basal FSH was used to estimate the probability of a live birth. Cost analysis was applied to the resulting prediction. The predicted probability of a live birth following ART based on a woman's age and FSH and the associated cost of a live birth. Analysis of 1,238 first ART cycles produced a prediction model for live birth rates following ART incorporating both age and FSH. A cost analysis based upon combination of age and FSH revealed the cost of a live birth exceeded $100,000 when the probability of a live birth fell below 15% and the cost rose exponentially at lower probabilities of live birth. Based upon a woman's age and FSH and expected cost for a live birth using ART may be calculated. At live birth rates <5%, the cost of ART is high and greatly exceeds the cost of donor cycles. This information is vital for patient counseling.

  19. Cost benefits of advanced software: A review of methodology used at Kennedy Space Center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Joglekar, Prafulla N.

    1993-01-01

    To assist rational investments in advanced software, a formal, explicit, and multi-perspective cost-benefit analysis methodology is proposed. The methodology can be implemented through a six-stage process which is described and explained. The current practice of cost-benefit analysis at KSC is reviewed in the light of this methodology. The review finds that there is a vicious circle operating. Unsound methods lead to unreliable cost-benefit estimates. Unreliable estimates convince management that cost-benefit studies should not be taken seriously. Then, given external demands for cost-benefit estimates, management encourages software enginees to somehow come up with the numbers for their projects. Lacking the expertise needed to do a proper study, courageous software engineers with vested interests use ad hoc and unsound methods to generate some estimates. In turn, these estimates are unreliable, and the cycle continues. The proposed methodology should help KSC to break out of this cycle.

  20. The Cost-Effectiveness of Using Payment to Increase Living Donor Kidneys for Transplantation

    PubMed Central

    Barnieh, Lianne; Gill, John S.; Klarenbach, Scott

    2013-01-01

    Summary Background and objectives For eligible candidates, transplantation is considered the optimal treatment compared with dialysis for patients with ESRD. The growing number of patients with ESRD requires new strategies to increase the pool of potential donors. Design, setting, participants, & measurements Using decision analysis modeling, this study compared a strategy of paying living kidney donors to waitlisted recipients on dialysis with the current organ donation system. In the base case estimate, this study assumed that the number of donors would increase by 5% with a payment of $10,000. Quality of life estimates, resource use, and costs (2010 Canadian dollars) were based on the best available published data. Results Compared with the current organ donation system, a strategy of increasing the number of kidneys for transplantation by 5% by paying living donors $10,000 has an incremental cost-savings of $340 and a gain of 0.11 quality-adjusted life years. Increasing the number of kidneys for transplantation by 10% and 20% would translate into incremental cost-savings of $1640 and $4030 and incremental quality-adjusted life years gain of 0.21 and 0.39, respectively. Conclusion Although the impact is uncertain, this model suggests that a strategy of paying living donors to increase the number of kidneys available for transplantation could be cost-effective, even with a transplant rate increase of only 5%. Future work needs to examine the feasibility, legal policy, ethics, and public perception of a strategy to pay living donors. PMID:24158797

  1. The cost-effectiveness of using payment to increase living donor kidneys for transplantation.

    PubMed

    Barnieh, Lianne; Gill, John S; Klarenbach, Scott; Manns, Braden J

    2013-12-01

    For eligible candidates, transplantation is considered the optimal treatment compared with dialysis for patients with ESRD. The growing number of patients with ESRD requires new strategies to increase the pool of potential donors. Using decision analysis modeling, this study compared a strategy of paying living kidney donors to waitlisted recipients on dialysis with the current organ donation system. In the base case estimate, this study assumed that the number of donors would increase by 5% with a payment of $10,000. Quality of life estimates, resource use, and costs (2010 Canadian dollars) were based on the best available published data. Compared with the current organ donation system, a strategy of increasing the number of kidneys for transplantation by 5% by paying living donors $10,000 has an incremental cost-savings of $340 and a gain of 0.11 quality-adjusted life years. Increasing the number of kidneys for transplantation by 10% and 20% would translate into incremental cost-savings of $1640 and $4030 and incremental quality-adjusted life years gain of 0.21 and 0.39, respectively. Although the impact is uncertain, this model suggests that a strategy of paying living donors to increase the number of kidneys available for transplantation could be cost-effective, even with a transplant rate increase of only 5%. Future work needs to examine the feasibility, legal policy, ethics, and public perception of a strategy to pay living donors.

  2. A cost-controlling treatment strategy of adding liraglutide to insulin in type 2 diabetes.

    PubMed

    de Wit, H M; Vervoort, G M M; de Galan, B E; Tack, C J

    2017-09-01

    Addition of the GLP-1 receptor agonist liraglutide to insulin can reverse insulin-associated weight gain, improve HbA1c and decrease the need for insulin, but is expensive. From a cost perspective, such treatment should be discontinued when it is clear that treatment targets will not be achieved. Our aim was to find the best cost-controlling treatment strategy: the shortest possible trial period needed to discriminate successfully treated patients from those failing to achieve predefined targets of treatment success. We used data from the 'Effect of Liraglutide on insulin-associated wEight GAiN in patients with Type 2 diabetes' (ELEGANT) trial, comparing additional liraglutide (n = 47) and standard insulin therapy (n = 24) during 26 weeks, to calculate the costs associated with different trial periods. Treatment success after 26 weeks was defined by having achieved ≥ 2 of the following: ≥ 4% weight loss, HbA1c ≤ 53 mmol/mol (7%), and/or discontinuation of insulin. The additional direct costs of adding liraglutide for 26 weeks were € 699 per patient, or € 137 per 1 kg weight loss, compared with standard therapy. The best cost-controlling treatment strategy (identifying 21 of 23 responders, treating four non-responders) was to continue treatment in patients showing ≥ 3% weight loss or ≥ 60% decrease in insulin dose at 8 weeks, with a total cost of € 246 for this t rial period, saving € 453 in case of early discontinuation. An 8-week trial period of adding liraglutide to insulin in patients with insulin-associated weight gain is an effective cost-controlling treatment strategy if the liraglutide is discontinued in patients not showing an early response regarding weight loss or insulin reduction.

  3. Cost-effectiveness of dapagliflozin (Forxiga®) added to metformin compared with sulfonylurea added to metformin in type 2 diabetes in the Nordic countries.

    PubMed

    Sabale, Ugne; Ekman, Mattias; Granström, Ola; Bergenheim, Klas; McEwan, Phil

    2015-02-01

    The aim of this study was to assess the long-term cost-effectiveness of dapagliflozin (Forxiga(®)) added to metformin, compared with sulfonylurea (SU) added to metformin, in Nordic Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients inadequately controlled on metformin. Data from a 52-week clinical trial comparing dapagliflozin and SU in combination with metformin was used in a Cardiff simulation model to estimate long term diabetes-related complications in a cohort of T2DM patients. Costs and QALYs were calculated from a healthcare provider perspective and estimated over a patient's lifetime. Compared with metformin+SU, the cost per QALY gained with dapagliflozin+metformin was €7944 in Denmark, €5424 in Finland, €4769 in Norway, and €6093 in Sweden. Metformin+dapagliflozin was associated with QALY gains ranging from 0.236 in Norway to 0.278 in Sweden and incremental cost ranging from €1125 in Norway to €1962 in Denmark. Results were robust across both one-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses. Results were driven by weight changes associated with each treatment. Results indicate that metformin+dapagliflozin is associated with gains in QALY compared with metformin+SU in Nordic T2DM patients inadequately controlled on metformin. Dapagliflozin treatment is a cost-effective treatment alternative for Type 2 diabetes in all four Nordic countries. Copyright © 2014 Primary Care Diabetes Europe. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. An evidence-based unified definition of lifelong and acquired premature ejaculation: report of the second International Society for Sexual Medicine Ad Hoc Committee for the Definition of Premature Ejaculation.

    PubMed

    Serefoglu, Ege Can; McMahon, Chris G; Waldinger, Marcel D; Althof, Stanley E; Shindel, Alan; Adaikan, Ganesh; Becher, Edgardo F; Dean, John; Giuliano, Francois; Hellstrom, Wayne J G; Giraldi, Annamaria; Glina, Sidney; Incrocci, Luca; Jannini, Emmanuele; McCabe, Marita; Parish, Sharon; Rowland, David; Segraves, R Taylor; Sharlip, Ira; Torres, Luiz Otavio

    2014-06-01

    The International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM) Ad Hoc Committee for the Definition of Premature Ejaculation developed the first evidence-based definition for lifelong premature ejaculation (PE) in 2007 and concluded that there were insufficient published objective data at that time to develop a definition for acquired PE. The aim of this article is to review and critique the current literature and develop a contemporary, evidence-based definition for acquired PE and/or a unified definition for both lifelong and acquired PE. In April 2013, the ISSM convened a second Ad Hoc Committee for the Definition of Premature Ejaculation in Bangalore, India. The same evidence-based systematic approach to literature search, retrieval, and evaluation used by the original committee was adopted. The committee unanimously agreed that men with lifelong and acquired PE appear to share the dimensions of short ejaculatory latency, reduced or absent perceived ejaculatory control, and the presence of negative personal consequences. Men with acquired PE are older, have higher incidences of erectile dysfunction, comorbid disease, and cardiovascular risk factors, and have a longer intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT) as compared with men with lifelong PE. A self-estimated or stopwatch IELT of 3 minutes was identified as a valid IELT cut-off for diagnosing acquired PE. On this basis, the committee agreed on a unified definition of both acquired and lifelong PE as a male sexual dysfunction characterized by (i) ejaculation that always or nearly always occurs prior to or within about 1 minute of vaginal penetration from the first sexual experience (lifelong PE) or a clinically significant and bothersome reduction in latency time, often to about 3 minutes or less (acquired PE); (ii) the inability to delay ejaculation on all or nearly all vaginal penetrations; and (iii) negative personal consequences, such as distress, bother, frustration, and/or the avoidance of sexual intimacy. The

  5. 20 CFR 416.405 - Cost-of-living adjustments in benefits.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... which the title II benefits are being increased based on the Consumer Price Index, or, if greater, the... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Cost-of-living adjustments in benefits. 416.405 Section 416.405 Employees' Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME...

  6. The Traffic Adaptive Data Dissemination (TrAD) Protocol for both Urban and Highway Scenarios.

    PubMed

    Tian, Bin; Hou, Kun Mean; Zhou, Haiying

    2016-06-21

    The worldwide economic cost of road crashes and injuries is estimated to be US$518 billion per year and the annual congestion cost in France is estimated to be €5.9 billion. Vehicular Ad hoc Networks (VANETs) are one solution to improve transport features such as traffic safety, traffic jam and infotainment on wheels, where a great number of event-driven messages need to be disseminated in a timely way in a region of interest. In comparison with traditional wireless networks, VANETs have to consider the highly dynamic network topology and lossy links due to node mobility. Inter-Vehicle Communication (IVC) protocols are the keystone of VANETs. According to our survey, most of the proposed IVC protocols focus on either highway or urban scenarios, but not on both. Furthermore, too few protocols, considering both scenarios, can achieve high performance. In this paper, an infrastructure-less Traffic Adaptive data Dissemination (TrAD) protocol which takes into account road traffic and network traffic status for both highway and urban scenarios will be presented. TrAD has double broadcast suppression techniques and is designed to adapt efficiently to the irregular road topology. The performance of the TrAD protocol was evaluated quantitatively by means of realistic simulations taking into account different real road maps, traffic routes and vehicular densities. The obtained simulation results show that TrAD is more efficient in terms of packet delivery ratio, number of transmissions and delay in comparison with the performance of three well-known reference protocols. Moreover, TrAD can also tolerate a reasonable degree of GPS drift and still achieve efficient data dissemination.

  7. The Traffic Adaptive Data Dissemination (TrAD) Protocol for both Urban and Highway Scenarios

    PubMed Central

    Tian, Bin; Hou, Kun Mean; Zhou, Haiying

    2016-01-01

    The worldwide economic cost of road crashes and injuries is estimated to be US$518 billion per year and the annual congestion cost in France is estimated to be €5.9 billion. Vehicular Ad hoc Networks (VANETs) are one solution to improve transport features such as traffic safety, traffic jam and infotainment on wheels, where a great number of event-driven messages need to be disseminated in a timely way in a region of interest. In comparison with traditional wireless networks, VANETs have to consider the highly dynamic network topology and lossy links due to node mobility. Inter-Vehicle Communication (IVC) protocols are the keystone of VANETs. According to our survey, most of the proposed IVC protocols focus on either highway or urban scenarios, but not on both. Furthermore, too few protocols, considering both scenarios, can achieve high performance. In this paper, an infrastructure-less Traffic Adaptive data Dissemination (TrAD) protocol which takes into account road traffic and network traffic status for both highway and urban scenarios will be presented. TrAD has double broadcast suppression techniques and is designed to adapt efficiently to the irregular road topology. The performance of the TrAD protocol was evaluated quantitatively by means of realistic simulations taking into account different real road maps, traffic routes and vehicular densities. The obtained simulation results show that TrAD is more efficient in terms of packet delivery ratio, number of transmissions and delay in comparison with the performance of three well-known reference protocols. Moreover, TrAD can also tolerate a reasonable degree of GPS drift and still achieve efficient data dissemination. PMID:27338393

  8. Ad-hoc surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy methodologies for the detection of artist dyestuffs: thin layer chromatography-surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy and in situ on the fiber analysis.

    PubMed

    Brosseau, Christa L; Gambardella, Alessa; Casadio, Francesca; Grzywacz, Cecily M; Wouters, Jan; Van Duyne, Richard P

    2009-04-15

    Tailored ad-hoc methods must be developed for successful identification of minute amounts of natural dyes on works of art using Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS). This article details two of these successful approaches using silver film over nanosphere (AgFON) substrates and silica gel coupled with citrate-reduced Ag colloids. The latter substrate functions as the test system for the coupling of thin-layer chromatography and SERS (TLC-SERS), which has been used in the current research to separate and characterize a mixture of several artists' dyes. The poor limit of detection of TLC is overcome by coupling with SERS, and dyes which co-elute to nearly the same spot can be distinguished from each other. In addition, in situ extractionless non-hydrolysis SERS was used to analyze dyed reference fibers, as well as historical textile fibers. Colorants such as alizarin, purpurin, carminic acid, lac dye, crocin, and Cape jasmine were thus successfully identified.

  9. 20 CFR 404.272 - Indexes we use to measure the rise in the cost-of-living.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Indexes we use to measure the rise in the cost-of-living. 404.272 Section 404.272 Employees' Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION FEDERAL OLD... Increases § 404.272 Indexes we use to measure the rise in the cost-of-living. (a) The bases. To measure...

  10. IDMA: improving the defense against malicious attack for mobile ad hoc networks based on ARIP protocol

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Peng, Chaorong; Chen, Chang Wen

    2008-04-01

    Malicious nodes are mounting increasingly sophisticated attacking operations on the Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs). This is mainly because the IP-based MANETs are vulnerable to attacks by various malicious nodes. However, the defense against malicious attack can be improved when a new layer of network architecture can be developed to separate true IP address from disclosing to the malicious nodes. In this paper, we propose a new algorithm to improve the defense against malicious attack (IDMA) that is based on a recently developed Assignment Router Identify Protocol (ARIP) for the clustering-based MANET management. In the ARIP protocol, we design the ARIP architecture based on the new Identity instead of the vulnerable IP addresses to provide the required security that is embedded seamlessly into the overall network architecture. We make full use of ARIP's special property to monitor gateway forward packets by Reply Request Route Packets (RREP) without additional intrusion detection layer. We name this new algorithm IDMA because of its inherent capability to improve the defense against malicious attacks. Through IDMA, a watching algorithm can be established so as to counterattack the malicious node in the routing path when it unusually drops up packets. We provide analysis examples for IDMA for the defense against a malicious node that disrupts the route discovery by impersonating the destination, or by responding with state of corrupted routing information, or by disseminating forged control traffic. The IDMA algorithm is able to counterattack the malicious node in the cases when the node lunch DoS attack by broadcast a large number of route requests, or make Target traffic congestion by delivering huge mount of data; or spoof the IP addresses and send forge packets with a fake ID to the same Target causing traffic congestion at that destination. We have implemented IDMA algorism using the GloMoSim simulator and have demonstrated its performance under a variety of

  11. The specification of a hospital cost function. A comment on the recent literature.

    PubMed

    Breyer, F

    1987-06-01

    In the empirical estimation of hospital cost functions, two radically different types of specifications have been chosen to date, ad-hoc forms and flexible functional forms based on neoclassical production theory. This paper discusses the respective strengths and weaknesses of both approaches and emphasizes the apparently unreconcilable conflict between the goals of maintaining functional flexibility and keeping the number of variables manageable if at the same time patient heterogeneity is to be adequately reflected in the case mix variables. A new specification is proposed which strikes a compromise between these goals, and the underlying assumptions are discussed critically.

  12. 14 CFR 13.305 - Cost of living adjustments of civil monetary penalties.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... monetary penalties. 13.305 Section 13.305 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION PROCEDURAL RULES INVESTIGATIVE AND ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURES Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation Adjustment § 13.305 Cost of living adjustments of civil monetary penalties. (a) Except for the...

  13. 14 CFR 13.305 - Cost of living adjustments of civil monetary penalties.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... monetary penalties. 13.305 Section 13.305 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION PROCEDURAL RULES INVESTIGATIVE AND ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURES Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation Adjustment § 13.305 Cost of living adjustments of civil monetary penalties. (a) Except for the...

  14. 14 CFR 13.305 - Cost of living adjustments of civil monetary penalties.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... monetary penalties. 13.305 Section 13.305 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION PROCEDURAL RULES INVESTIGATIVE AND ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURES Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation Adjustment § 13.305 Cost of living adjustments of civil monetary penalties. (a) Except for the...

  15. 14 CFR 13.305 - Cost of living adjustments of civil monetary penalties.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... monetary penalties. 13.305 Section 13.305 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION PROCEDURAL RULES INVESTIGATIVE AND ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURES Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation Adjustment § 13.305 Cost of living adjustments of civil monetary penalties. (a) Except for the...

  16. 14 CFR 13.305 - Cost of living adjustments of civil monetary penalties.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... monetary penalties. 13.305 Section 13.305 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION PROCEDURAL RULES INVESTIGATIVE AND ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURES Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation Adjustment § 13.305 Cost of living adjustments of civil monetary penalties. (a) Except for the...

  17. Is adding maternal vaccination to prevent whooping cough cost-effective in Australia?

    PubMed

    Van Bellinghen, Laure-Anne; Dimitroff, Alex; Haberl, Michael; Li, Xiao; Manton, Andrew; Moeremans, Karen; Demarteau, Nadia

    2018-05-17

    Pertussis or whooping cough, a highly infectious respiratory infection, causes significant morbidity and mortality in infants. In adolescents and adults, pertussis presents with atypical symptoms often resulting in under-diagnosis and under-reporting, increasing the risk of transmission to more vulnerable groups. Maternal vaccination against pertussis protects mothers and newborns. This evaluation assessed the cost-effectiveness of adding maternal dTpa (reduced antigen diphtheria, Tetanus, acellular pertussis) vaccination to the 2016 nationally-funded pertussis program (DTPa [Diphtheria, Tetanus, acellular Pertussis] at 2, 4, 6, 18 months, 4 years and dTpa at 12-13 years) in Australia. A static cross-sectional population model was developed using a one-year period at steady-state. The model considered the total Australian population, stratified by age. Vaccine effectiveness against pertussis infection was assumed to be 92% in mothers and 91% in newborns, based on observational and case-control studies. The model included conservative assumptions around unreported cases. With 70% coverage, adding maternal vaccination to the existing pertussis program would prevent 8,847 pertussis cases, 422 outpatient cases, 146 hospitalizations and 0.54 deaths per year at the population level. With a 5% discount rate, 138.5 quality-adjusted-life-years (QALYs) would be gained at an extra cost of AUS$ 4.44 million and an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of AUS$ 32,065 per QALY gained. Sensitivity and scenario analyses demonstrated that outcomes were most sensitive to assumptions around vaccine effectiveness, duration of protection in mothers, and disutility of unreported cases. In conclusion, dTpa vaccination in the third trimester of pregnancy is likely to be cost-effective from a healthcare payer perspective in Australia.

  18. Sea Training at Maritime Academies Oversight. Hearings Before the Ad Hoc Select Subcommittee on Maritime Education and Training of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, House of Representatives, Ninety-Sixth Congress, Second Session on Sea Training of United States Merchant Marine Officers and Different Ways of Satisfying This Requirement at the Various Maritime Academies.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries.

    Recorded are minutes of hearings before the House Ad Hoc Select Subcommittee on Maritime Education and Training regarding the sea training of United States Merchant Marine officers. Examined are various approaches to meeting the sea training requirement, especially the options of maritime academy training vessels, sailing on U.S.-flag merchant…

  19. Cost-Effective Live Cell Density Determination of Liquid Cultured Microorganisms.

    PubMed

    Kutschera, Alexander; Lamb, Jacob J

    2018-02-01

    Live monitoring of microorganisms growth in liquid medium is a desired parameter for many research fields. A wildly used approach for determining microbial liquid growth quantification is based on light scattering as the result of the physical interaction of light with microbial cells. These measurements are generally achieved using costly table-top instruments; however, a live, reliable, and straight forward instrument constructed using parts that are inexpensive may provide opportunities for many researchers. Here, such an instrument has been constructed and tested. It consists of modular test tube holding chambers, each with a low power monochromatic light-emitting diode, and a monolithic photodiode. A microcontroller connects to all modular chambers to control the diodes, and send the live data to either an LCD screen, or a computer. This work demonstrate that this modular instrument can determine precise cell concentrations for the bacteria Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000, as well as Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast.

  20. Ad-hoc and context-dependent adjustments of selective attention in conflict control: an ERP study with visual probes.

    PubMed

    Nigbur, R; Schneider, J; Sommer, W; Dimigen, O; Stürmer, B

    2015-02-15

    Cognitive conflict control in flanker tasks has often been described using the zoom-lens metaphor of selective attention. However, whether and how selective attention - in terms of suppression and enhancement - operates in this context has remained unclear. To examine the dynamic interplay of selective attention and cognitive control we used electrophysiological measures and presented task-irrelevant visual probe stimuli at foveal, parafoveal, and peripheral display positions. Target-flanker congruency varied either randomly from trial to trial (mixed-block) or block-wise (fixed-block) in order to induce reactive versus proactive control modes, respectively. Three EEG measures were used to capture ad-hoc adjustments within trials as well as effects of context-based predictions: the N1 component of the visual evoked potential (VEP) to probes, the VEP to targets, and the conflict-related midfrontal N2 component. Results from probe-VEPs indicate that enhanced processing of the foveal target rather than suppression of the peripheral flankers supports interference control. In incongruent mixed-block trials VEPs were larger to probes near the targets. In the fixed-blocks probe-VEPs were not modulated, but contrary to the mixed-block the preceding target-related VEP was affected by congruency. Results of the control-related N2 reveal largest amplitudes in the unpredictable context, which did not differentiate for stimulus and response incongruency. In contrast, in the predictable context, N2 amplitudes were reduced overall and differentiated between stimulus and response incongruency. Taken together these results imply that predictability alters interference control by a reconfiguration of stimulus processing. During unpredictable sequences participants adjust their attentional focus dynamically on a trial-by-trial basis as reflected in congruency-dependent probe-VEP-modulation. This reactive control mode also elicits larger N2 amplitudes. In contrast, when task demands

  1. A method to achieve control of dietary macronutrient composition in ad libitum diets consumed by free-living subjects.

    PubMed

    Skov, A R; Toubro, S; Raben, A; Astrup, A

    1997-10-01

    To validate a shop system in controlling macronutrient composition during ad libitum dietary intervention. Six months randomized intervention trial. A shop at the department from which all foods were collected free of charge and registered by a purpose-designed computer system. Sixty-five free-living obese subjects (25 kg/m2 < BMI < 34 kg/m2) recruited through advertisement and from a waiting list at the Department. Total drop-out rate was 8%. Ad libitum low-fat diets (30 energy-% (E%) fat): (1) High-protein (25 E% protein, HP) or (2) Low-protein, (12 E% protein, LP) or habitual diet (controls, C). Compliance was assessed by 24 h urinary nitrogen excretion (24 h UN). After one month of dietary intervention 24 h UN increased significantly in the HP group and decreased significantly in the LP group (Group difference 95% CI):6.8 g (5.0-8.7 g), P < 0.0001). This group difference remained throughout the trial. There was good agreement between protein intake as estimated by the shop computer and as estimated from 24 h UN in both first (r = 0.86) and second half of the intervention (r = 0.80). The high dietary compliance demonstrates the potential of this method to control macronutrient composition in ad libitum dietary intervention studies in free-living subjects.

  2. Planning Ahead or Living a Day at a Time? A Family History of AD and Retirement Planning.

    PubMed

    Zick, Cathleen D; Smith, Ken R; Mayer, Robert N

    2016-09-01

    We assess whether a family history of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is associated with the odds that healthy family members' engage in retirement planning activities. This is a cross-sectional study utilizing individual-level data from the Utah Population Database that have been linked to Medicare records and to responses from a retirement planning survey. Engagement in 3 retirement planning activities was estimated as a function of the number of parents and grandparents diagnosed with AD along with a set of fundamental socioeconomic and demographic covariates. Adults who had a parent with AD were 86% more likely to have seen a professional financial advisor and 40% less likely to plan to retire before age 65. Caregiving costs and/or knowledge of the familial risk of developing AD may provide adult children with a forewarning of their own future financial needs that, in turn, motivates them to engage in retirement planning. © The Author(s) 2016.

  3. Age-specific cost and public funding of a live birth following assisted reproductive treatment in Japan.

    PubMed

    Maeda, Eri; Ishihara, Osamu; Saito, Hidekazu; Kuwahara, Akira; Toyokawa, Satoshi; Kobayashi, Yasuki

    2014-05-01

    The aim of this study was to calculate and assess the cost of assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment cycles and live-birth events in Japan in 2010. We performed a retrospective analysis of 238,185 ART cycles, registered with the national registry of assisted reproductive treatment during 2010. Costs were calculated, using a decision analysis model. The average cost per live birth was ¥1,974,000. This varied from ¥1,155,000 in women aged < 30 years to ¥50,189,000 in women aged ≥ 45, which was 29.6 times higher than that of women aged 35-39 years. This rose sharply in the early 40s and upwards. Public funding per live birth was ¥442,000. This was ¥6,118,000 in women aged ≥ 45, 15.4 times higher than that of the 35-39-year-old age group. The costs and public funding of a live birth after ART treatment rises with age due to the lower success rates in older women. It may provide economic background to improve the current subsidy system for ART and to provide practical knowledge about fertility for the general population. © 2014 The Authors. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research © 2014 Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

  4. A portable low-cost long-term live-cell imaging platform for biomedical research and education.

    PubMed

    Walzik, Maria P; Vollmar, Verena; Lachnit, Theresa; Dietz, Helmut; Haug, Susanne; Bachmann, Holger; Fath, Moritz; Aschenbrenner, Daniel; Abolpour Mofrad, Sepideh; Friedrich, Oliver; Gilbert, Daniel F

    2015-02-15

    Time-resolved visualization and analysis of slow dynamic processes in living cells has revolutionized many aspects of in vitro cellular studies. However, existing technology applied to time-resolved live-cell microscopy is often immobile, costly and requires a high level of skill to use and maintain. These factors limit its utility to field research and educational purposes. The recent availability of rapid prototyping technology makes it possible to quickly and easily engineer purpose-built alternatives to conventional research infrastructure which are low-cost and user-friendly. In this paper we describe the prototype of a fully automated low-cost, portable live-cell imaging system for time-resolved label-free visualization of dynamic processes in living cells. The device is light-weight (3.6 kg), small (22 × 22 × 22 cm) and extremely low-cost (<€1250). We demonstrate its potential for biomedical use by long-term imaging of recombinant HEK293 cells at varying culture conditions and validate its ability to generate time-resolved data of high quality allowing for analysis of time-dependent processes in living cells. While this work focuses on long-term imaging of mammalian cells, the presented technology could also be adapted for use with other biological specimen and provides a general example of rapidly prototyped low-cost biosensor technology for application in life sciences and education. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. 20 CFR 226.13 - Cost-of-living increase in employee vested dual benefit.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... RAILROAD RETIREMENT ACT COMPUTING EMPLOYEE, SPOUSE, AND DIVORCED SPOUSE ANNUITIES Computing an Employee... increase is based on the cost-of-living increases in social security benefits during the period from...

  6. Time and financial costs of programs for live trapping feral cats.

    PubMed

    Nutter, Felicia B; Stoskopf, Michael K; Levine, Jay F

    2004-11-01

    To determine the time and financial costs of programs for live trapping feral cats and determine whether allowing cats to become acclimated to the traps improved trapping effectiveness. Prospective cohort study. 107 feral cats in 9 colonies. 15 traps were set at each colony for 5 consecutive nights, and 5 traps were then set per night until trapping was complete. In 4 colonies, traps were immediately baited and set; in the remaining 5 colonies, traps were left open and cats were fed in the traps for 3 days prior to the initiation of trapping. Costs for bait and labor were calculated, and trapping effort and efficiency were assessed. Mean +/- SD overall trapping effort (ie, number of trap-nights until at least 90% of the cats in the colony had been captured or until no more than 1 cat remained untrapped) was 8.9 +/- 3.9 trap-nights per cat captured. Mean overall trapping efficiency (ie, percentage of cats captured per colony) was 98.0 +/- 4.0%. There were no significant differences in trapping effort or efficiency between colonies that were provided an acclimation period and colonies that were not. Overall trapping costs were significantly higher for colonies provided an acclimation period. Results suggest that these live-trapping protocols were effective. Feeding cats their regular diets in the traps for 3 days prior to the initiation of trapping did not have a significant effect on trapping effort or efficiency in the present study but was associated with significant increases in trapping costs.

  7. Adding bevacizumab to single agent chemotherapy for the treatment of platinum-resistant recurrent ovarian cancer: A cost effectiveness analysis of the AURELIA trial.

    PubMed

    Wysham, Weiya Z; Schaffer, Elisabeth M; Coles, Theresa; Roque, Dario R; Wheeler, Stephanie B; Kim, Kenneth H

    2017-05-01

    AURELIA, a randomized phase III trial of adding bevacizumab (B) to single agent chemotherapy (CT) for the treatment of platinum-resistant recurrent ovarian cancer, demonstrated improved progression free survival (PFS) in the B+CT arm compared to CT alone. We aimed to evaluate the cost effectiveness of adding B to CT in the treatment of platinum-resistant recurrent ovarian cancer. A decision tree model was constructed to evaluate the cost effectiveness of adding bevacizumab (B) to single agent chemotherapy (CT) based on the arms of the AURELIA trial. Costs, quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), and progression free survival (PFS) were modeled over fifteen months. Model inputs were extracted from published literature and public sources. Incremental cost effectiveness ratios (ICERs) per QALY gained and ICERs per progression free life year saved (PF-LYS) were calculated. One-way sensitivity analyses were performed to evaluate the robustness of results. The ICER associated with B+CT is $410,455 per QALY gained and $217,080 per PF-LYS. At a willingness to pay (WTP) threshold of $50,000/QALY, adding B to single agent CT is not cost effective for this patient population. Even at a WTP threshold of $100,000/QALY, B+CT is not cost effective. These findings are robust to sensitivity analyses. Despite gains in QALY and PFS, the addition of B to single agent CT for treatment of platinum-resistant recurrent ovarian cancer is not cost effective. Benefits, risks, and costs associated with treatment should be taken into consideration when prescribing chemotherapy for this patient population. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Cost-effectiveness of donepezil and memantine in moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease (the DOMINO-AD trial).

    PubMed

    Knapp, Martin; King, Derek; Romeo, Renée; Adams, Jessica; Baldwin, Ashley; Ballard, Clive; Banerjee, Sube; Barber, Robert; Bentham, Peter; Brown, Richard G; Burns, Alistair; Dening, Tom; Findlay, David; Holmes, Clive; Johnson, Tony; Jones, Robert; Katona, Cornelius; Lindesay, James; Macharouthu, Ajay; McKeith, Ian; McShane, Rupert; O'Brien, John T; Phillips, Patrick P J; Sheehan, Bart; Howard, Robert

    2017-12-01

    Most investigations of pharmacotherapy for treating Alzheimer's disease focus on patients with mild-to-moderate symptoms, with little evidence to guide clinical decisions when symptoms become severe. We examined whether continuing donepezil, or commencing memantine, is cost-effective for community-dwelling, moderate-to-severe Alzheimer's disease patients. Cost-effectiveness analysis was based on a 52-week, multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled, factorial clinical trial. A total of 295 community-dwelling patients with moderate/severe Alzheimer's disease, already treated with donepezil, were randomised to: (i) continue donepezil; (ii) discontinue donepezil; (iii) discontinue donepezil and start memantine; or (iv) continue donepezil and start memantine. Continuing donepezil for 52 weeks was more cost-effective than discontinuation, considering cognition, activities of daily living and health-related quality of life. Starting memantine was more cost-effective than donepezil discontinuation. Donepezil-memantine combined is not more cost-effective than donepezil alone. Robust evidence is now available to inform clinical decisions and commissioning strategies so as to improve patients' lives whilst making efficient use of available resources. Clinical guidelines for treating moderate/severe Alzheimer's disease, such as those issued by NICE in England and Wales, should be revisited. © 2016 The Authors. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. © 2016 The Authors. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  9. Impact on Medical Cost, Cumulative Survival, and Cost-Effectiveness of Adding Rituximab to First-Line Chemotherapy for Follicular Lymphoma in Elderly Patients: An Observational Cohort Study Based on SEER-Medicare

    PubMed Central

    Griffiths, Robert I.; Gleeson, Michelle L.; Mikhael, Joseph; Danese, Mark D.

    2012-01-01

    Rituximab improves survival in follicular lymphoma (FL), but is considerably more expensive than conventional chemotherapy. We estimated the total direct medical costs, cumulative survival, and cost-effectiveness of adding rituximab to first-line chemotherapy for FL, based on a single source of data representing routine practice in the elderly. Using surveillance, epidemiology, and end results (SEER) registry data plus Medicare claims, we identified 1,117 FL patients who received first-line CHOP (cyclophosphamide (C), doxorubicin, vincristine (V), and prednisone (P)) or CVP +/− rituximab. Multivariate regression was used to estimate adjusted cumulative cost and survival differences between the two groups over four years after beginning treatment. The median age was 73 years (minimum 66 years), 56% had stage III-IV disease, and 67% received rituximab. Adding rituximab to first-line chemotherapy was associated with higher adjusted incremental total cost ($18,695; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) $9,302–$28,643) and longer adjusted cumulative survival (0.18 years; 95% CI 0.10–0.27) over four years of followup. The expected cost-effectiveness was $102,142 (95% CI $34,531–296,337) per life-year gained. In routine clinical practice, adding rituximab to first-line chemotherapy for elderly patients with FL results in higher direct medical costs to Medicare and longer cumulative survival after four years. PMID:22969803

  10. Costs, Staffing, and Services of Assisted Living in the United States: A Literature Review.

    PubMed

    Kisling-Rundgren, Amy; Paul, David P; Coustasse, Alberto

    2016-01-01

    Assisted-living facilities (ALFs), which provide a community for residents who require assistance throughout their day, are an important part of the long-term-care system in the United States. The costs of ALFs are paid either out of pocket, by Medicaid, or by long-term-care insurance. Monthly costs of ALFs have increased over the past 5 years on an average of 4.1%. The purpose of this research was to examine the future trends in ALFs in the United States to determine the impact of health care on costs. The methodology for this study was a literature review, and a total of 32 sources were referenced. Trends in monthly costs of ALFs have increased from 2004 to 2014. Within the past 5 years, there has been an increase on average of 4.1% in assisted-living costs. Medicaid is one payer for residents of ALFs, whereas another alternative is the use of long-term-care insurance. Unfortunately, Medicare does not pay for ALFs. Staffing concerns in ALFs are limited because of each state having different rules and regulations. Turnover and retention rates of nurses in ALFs are suggested to be high, whereas vacancy rate for nurses is suggested to be lower. The baby-boomer generation can be one contribution to the increase in costs. Over the years, there has been an increase in Alzheimer disease, which has had also an effect on cost in ALFs.

  11. Optimizing Teleportation Cost in Distributed Quantum Circuits

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zomorodi-Moghadam, Mariam; Houshmand, Mahboobeh; Houshmand, Monireh

    2018-03-01

    The presented work provides a procedure for optimizing the communication cost of a distributed quantum circuit (DQC) in terms of the number of qubit teleportations. Because of technology limitations which do not allow large quantum computers to work as a single processing element, distributed quantum computation is an appropriate solution to overcome this difficulty. Previous studies have applied ad-hoc solutions to distribute a quantum system for special cases and applications. In this study, a general approach is proposed to optimize the number of teleportations for a DQC consisting of two spatially separated and long-distance quantum subsystems. To this end, different configurations of locations for executing gates whose qubits are in distinct subsystems are considered and for each of these configurations, the proposed algorithm is run to find the minimum number of required teleportations. Finally, the configuration which leads to the minimum number of teleportations is reported. The proposed method can be used as an automated procedure to find the configuration with the optimal communication cost for the DQC. This cost can be used as a basic measure of the communication cost for future works in the distributed quantum circuits.

  12. 75 FR 74623 - Cost of Living Adjustment for Performance of Musical Compositions by Colleges and Universities

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-12-01

    ... LIBRARY OF CONGRESS Copyright Royalty Board 37 CFR Part 381 [Docket No. 2010-9 CRB] Cost of Living Adjustment for Performance of Musical Compositions by Colleges and Universities AGENCY: Copyright Royalty Board, Library of Congress. ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: The Copyright Royalty Judges announce a cost of...

  13. Costs of achieving live birth from assisted reproductive technology: a comparison of sequential single and double embryo transfer approaches.

    PubMed

    Crawford, Sara; Boulet, Sheree L; Mneimneh, Allison S; Perkins, Kiran M; Jamieson, Denise J; Zhang, Yujia; Kissin, Dmitry M

    2016-02-01

    To assess treatment and pregnancy/infant-associated medical costs and birth outcomes for assisted reproductive technology (ART) cycles in a subset of patients using elective double embryo (ET) and to project the difference in costs and outcomes had the cycles instead been sequential single ETs (fresh followed by frozen if the fresh ET did not result in live birth). Retrospective cohort study using 2012 and 2013 data from the National ART Surveillance System. Infertility treatment centers. Fresh, autologous double ETs performed in 2012 among ART patients younger than 35 years of age with no prior ART use who cryopreserved at least one embryo. Sequential single and double ETs. Actual live birth rates and estimated ART treatment and pregnancy/infant-associated medical costs for double ET cycles started in 2012 and projected ART treatment and pregnancy/infant-associated medical costs if the double ET cycles had been performed as sequential single ETs. The estimated total ART treatment and pregnancy/infant-associated medical costs were $580.9 million for 10,001 double ETs started in 2012. If performed as sequential single ETs, estimated costs would have decreased by $195.0 million to $386.0 million, and live birth rates would have increased from 57.7%-68.0%. Sequential single ETs, when clinically appropriate, can reduce total ART treatment and pregnancy/infant-associated medical costs by reducing multiple births without lowering live birth rates. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  14. Tuition and Living Accommodation Costs at Canadian Universities, 1978-79 and 1979-80.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dulac, Claude

    Tuition and living accommodation costs for students at most Canadian universities are summarized in this publication from Statistics Canada. Extensive data tables include information on accommodation costs for university-operated residences and housing and tuition fees. The range of tuition fees at the undergraduate level reflects a fee structure…

  15. Evaluation of absorbent materials for use as ad hoc dry decontaminants during mass casualty incidents as part of the UK’s Initial Operational Response (IOR)

    PubMed Central

    Kassouf, Nick; Syed, Sara; Larner, Joanne; Amlôt, Richard

    2017-01-01

    The UK’s Initial Operational Response (IOR) is a revised process for the medical management of mass casualties potentially contaminated with hazardous materials. A critical element of the IOR is the introduction of immediate, on-scene disrobing and decontamination of casualties to limit the adverse health effects of exposure. Ad hoc cleansing of the skin with dry absorbent materials has previously been identified as a potential means of facilitating emergency decontamination. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the in vitro oil and water absorbency of a range of materials commonly found in the domestic and clinical environments and to determine the effectiveness of a small, but representative selection of such materials in skin decontamination, using an established ex vivo model. Five contaminants were used in the study: methyl salicylate, parathion, diethyl malonate, phorate and potassium cyanide. In vitro measurements of water and oil absorbency did not correlate with ex vivo measurements of skin decontamination. When measured ex vivo, dry decontamination was consistently more effective than a standard wet decontamination method (“rinse-wipe-rinse”) for removing liquid contaminants. However, dry decontamination was ineffective against particulate contamination. Collectively, these data confirm that absorbent materials such as wound dressings and tissue paper provide an effective, generic capability for emergency removal of liquid contaminants from the skin surface, but that wet decontamination should be used for non-liquid contaminants. PMID:28152053

  16. 78 FR 68133 - Cost-of-Living Increases and Other Determinations for 2014; Correction

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-11-13

    ... SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION [Docket No. SSA-2013-0057] Cost-of-Living Increases and Other Determinations for 2014; Correction AGENCY: Social Security Administration. ACTION: Notice; Correction. SUMMARY: The Social Security Administration published a document in the Federal Register of November 5, 2013...

  17. Costs and health resources utilization following switching to pregabalin in individuals with gabapentin-refractory neuropathic pain: a post hoc analysis.

    PubMed

    Navarro, Ana; Saldaña, María T; Pérez, Concepción; Masramón, Xavier; Rejas, Javier

    2012-06-01

    To analyze the changes in pain severity and associated costs resulting from resource utilization and reduced productivity in patients with gabapentin-refractory peripheral neuropathic pain who switched to pregabalin therapy in primary care settings in Spain. This is a post hoc analysis of a 12-week, multicentre, noninterventional cost-of-illness study. Patients were included in the study if they were over 18 years of age and had a diagnosis of chronic, treatment-refractory peripheral neuropathic pain. The analysis included all pregabalin-naïve patients who had previously shown an inadequate response to gabapentin and switched to pregabalin. Severity of pain before and after treatment with pregabalin, alone or as an add-on therapy, was assessed using the Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ) and its related visual analogue scale (VA). Healthcare resource utilization, productivity (including lost-workday equivalents [LWDE]), and related costs were assessed at baseline and after pregabalin treatment. A total of 174 patients switched to pregabalin had significant and clinically relevant reductions in pain severity (mean [SD] change on SF-MPQ VA scale, -31.9 [22.1]; P < 0.05 vs. baseline; effect size, 1.87). Reduction in pain was similar with both pregabalin monotherapy and add-on therapy. Significant reductions in healthcare resource utilization (concomitant drug use [in pregabalin add-on group], ancillary tests, and unscheduled medical visits) were observed at the end of trial. Additionally, there were substantial improvements in productivity, including a reduction in the number of LWDE following pregabalin treatment (-18.9 [26.0]; P < 0.0001). These changes correlated with substantial reductions in both direct (-652.9 ± 1622.4 €; P < 0.0001) and indirect healthcare costs (-851.6 [1259.6] €; P < 0.0001). The cost of care in patients with gabapentin-refractory peripheral neuropathic pain appeared to be significantly reduced after switching to

  18. Ad Hoc Rural Regionalism

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hamin, Elisabeth M.; Marcucci, Daniel J.

    2008-01-01

    A new regionalism has been much documented and researched for metropolitan areas; this article documents that there is a new rural regionalism as well. In the United States, these groups appear most likely to emerge in areas that are challenged by outcomes characterizing globalization's effects on the rural condition: namely, exurban or…

  19. Can Better Outdoor Environments Lead to Cost Benefits in Assisted Living Facilities Through Increased Word-of-Mouth Referrals?

    PubMed

    Rodiek, Susan; Boggess, May M; Lee, Chanam; Booth, Geoffrey J; Morris, Alisan

    2013-01-01

    This study explores how better outdoor environments may produce cost benefits for assisted living providers by raising occupancy levels through increased resident satisfaction and word-of-mouth referrals. Older adults who spend even minimal time outdoors may reap substantial health benefits. However, many existing outdoor areas in assisted living facilities are reportedly underutilized, in part because of design issues. Providers may be more willing to improve outdoor areas if they produce cost benefits for provider organizations. This study used data from a recent assisted living survey to assess the relationship between satisfaction with outdoor spaces, time spent outdoors, and resulting improvements in mood. A financial analysis was developed to estimate potential benefits from improved outdoor areas attributable to increased occupancy and decreased marketing costs associated with increased word-of-mouth referrals. Increasing resident satisfaction with outdoor areas (from approximately 29% to 96%) results in residents spending more time outdoors (increase of 1½ hours per week per resident) and improved psychological well-being (12% increase in feeling better). This greater overall satisfaction leads to 8% more residents willing to refer potential residents to their community. Because word-of-mouth referrals by current residents are a major factor in resident recruitment, improving outdoors areas leads to an estimated 4% increase in new residents, resulting in over $170,000 of increased revenue per year for a community of 100 residents. Improved outdoor space can provide substantial cost benefits for assisted living providers. Increasing resident well-being and satisfaction, and thereby generating additional word-of-mouth referrals, can result in higher occupancy levels. Outdoor environments, assisted living, cost benefits, resident satisfaction, occupancy levels, seniors, rental income, word-of-mouth referralPreferred Citation: Rodiek, S., Boggess, M. M., Lee

  20. A novel Smart Routing Protocol for remote health monitoring in Medical Wireless Networks.

    PubMed

    Sundararajan, T V P; Sumithra, M G; Maheswar, R

    2014-01-01

    In a Medical Wireless Network (MWN), sensors constantly monitor patient's physiological condition and movement. Inter-MWN communications are set up between the Patient Server and one or more Centralized Coordinators. However, MWNs require protocols with little energy consumption and the self-organizing attribute perceived in ad-hoc networks. The proposed Smart Routing Protocol (SRP) selects only the nodes with a higher residual energy and lower traffic density for routing. This approach enhances cooperation among the nodes of a Mobile Ad Hoc Network. Consequently, SRP produces better results than the existing protocols, namely Conditional Min-Max Battery Cost Routing, Min-Max Battery Cost Routing and AdHoc On-demand Distance Vector in terms of network parameters. The performance of the erstwhile schemes for routing protocols is evaluated using the network simulator Qualnet v 4.5.

  1. Costs and cost-effectiveness of full implementation of a biennial faecal occult blood test screening program for bowel cancer in Australia.

    PubMed

    Pignone, Michael P; Flitcroft, Kathy L; Howard, Kirsten; Trevena, Lyndal J; Salkeld, Glenn P; St John, D James B

    2011-02-21

    To examine the costs and cost-effectiveness of full implementation of biennial bowel cancer screening for Australian residents aged 50-74 years. Identification of existing economic models from 1993 to 2010 through searches of PubMed and economic analysis databases, and by seeking expert advice; and additional modelling to determine the costs and cost-effectiveness of full implementation of biennial faecal occult blood test screening for the five million adults in Australia aged 50-74 years. Estimated number of deaths from bowel cancer prevented, costs, and cost-effectiveness (cost per life-year gained [LYG]) of biennial bowel cancer screening. We identified six relevant economic analyses, all of which found colorectal cancer (CRC) screening to be very cost-effective, with costs per LYG under $55,000 per year in 2010 Australian dollars. Based on our additional modelling, we conservatively estimate that full implementation of biennial screening for people aged 50-74 years would have gross costs of $150 million, reduce CRC mortality by 15%-25%, prevent 300-500 deaths from bowel cancer, and save 3600-6000 life-years annually, for an undiscounted cost per LYG of $25,000-$41,667, compared with no screening, and not taking cost savings as a result of treatment into consideration. The additional expenditure required, after accounting for reductions in CRC incidence, savings in CRC treatment costs, and existing ad-hoc colonoscopy use, is likely to be less than $50 million annually. Full implementation of biennial faecal occult blood test screening in Australia can reduce bowel cancer mortality, and is an efficient use of health resources that would require modest additional government investment.

  2. Calculations concerning the HCO(+)/HOC(+) abundance ratio in dense interstellar clouds

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Defrees, D. J.; Mclean, A. D.; Herbst, E.

    1984-01-01

    Calculations have been performed to determine the rate coefficients of several reactions involved in both the formation and depletion of interstellar HCO(+) and HOC(+). The abundance of HOC(+) deduced from these calculations is consistent with the tentative identification of HOC(+) in Sgr B2 by Woods et al. (1983). The large HCO(+)/HOC(+) abundance ratio observed by Woods et al. is due at least in part to a more rapid formation rate for HCO(+) and probably due as well to a more rapid depletion rate for HOC(+).

  3. 78 FR 66413 - Cost-of-Living Increase and Other Determinations for 2014

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-11-05

    ... Act for certain World War II veterans will be $540.75 for 2014; (3) The student earned income... attaining NRA in the year, we withhold $1 in benefits for every $3 of earnings in excess of the annual... Social Security Act (Act), there will be a 1.5 percent cost-of-living increase in Social Security...

  4. 76 FR 66111 - Cost-of-Living Increase and Other Determinations for 2012

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-10-25

    ... quarter ending September 30, 2008 by 3.6 percent (rounded to the nearest 0.1), beginning December 2011... following program amounts change based on the cost-of-living increase: (1) Title II; (2) title XVI; (3... amounts increase by 3.6 percent to $8,386.75, $12,578.71, and $4,202.98, respectively. Each of these...

  5. Cost Differential Analysis: Providing Data for Added Cost Funding

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nystrom, Dennis C.; Hennessy, James V.

    1975-01-01

    A 1972-73 statewide study conducted in Illinois to develop a cost accounting system which facilitates cost differential ratios for secondary vocational education courses indicated that vocational programs are approximately twice as expensive as nonvocational. Specific cost elements identified in the study provided essential information regarding…

  6. A reanalysis of the HCO(+)/HOC(+) abundance ratio in dense interstellar clouds

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Jarrold, M. F.; Bowers, M. T.; Defrees, D. J.; Mclean, A. D.; Herbst, E.

    1986-01-01

    New theoretical and experimental results have prompted a reinvestigation of the HCO(+)/HOC(+) abundance ratio in dense interstellar clouds. These results pertain principally but not exclusively to the reaction between HOC(+) and H2, which was previously calculated by DeFrees et al. (1984) to possess a large activation energy barrier. New calculations, reported here, indicate that this activation energy barrier is quite small and may well be zero. In addition, experimental results at higher energy and temperature indicate strongly that the reaction proceeds efficiently at interstellar temperatures. If HOC(+) does indeed react efficiently with H2 in interstellar clouds, the calculated HCO(+)/HOC(+) abundance ratio rises to a substantially greater value under standard dense cloud conditions than is deduced via the tentative observation of HOC(+) in Sgr B2.

  7. Geographic Variations in Cost of Living: Associations with Family and Child Well-Being

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chien, Nina C.; Mistry, Rashmita S.

    2013-01-01

    The effects of geographic variations in cost of living and family income on children's academic achievement and social competence in first grade (mean age = 86.9 months) were examined, mediated through material hardship, parental investments, family stress, and school resources. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten…

  8. Cost-effectiveness analysis of adding a quadrivalent HPV vaccine to the cervical cancer screening programme in Switzerland.

    PubMed

    Szucs, Thomas D; Largeron, Nathalie; Dedes, Konstantin J; Rafia, Rachid; Bénard, Stève

    2008-05-01

    Based on positive safety and efficacy data, a quadrivalent Human PapillomaVirus (HPV) vaccine has been approved in Switzerland to prevent HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18 infections. The objective of this study was to explore the cost-effectiveness of an HPV vaccination in Switzerland. A Markov model of the natural history of HPV infection was adapted to the Swiss context and followed a hypothetical cohort of 41,200 girls aged 11 years over their lifetime. Main epidemiological and economic parameters were extracted from the literature. Two strategies were compared: conventional cytological screening only and HPV vaccination followed by conventional cytological screening. A coverage rate of 80% was used and the vaccine was assumed to provide a lifelong protection. Analyses were performed from the direct health care cost perspective including only direct medical costs. Compared to screening only, adding a quadrivalent HPV vaccine could prevent over lifetime 62% of cervical cancers and related deaths, 19% of Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia (CIN 1), 43% of CIN 2, 45% of CIN 3 and 66% of genital warts per cohort. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER) were estimated to be CHF 45,008 per Life Year Gained (LYG) and CHF 26,005 per Quality Adjusted Life Year (QALY) gained. Sensitivity analyses demonstrated that the ICER was robust to all parameters, but was most sensitive to the need for a booster and discount rates. Compared to commonly accepted standard thresholds in Europe and other vaccination strategies implemented in Switzerland, adding a quadrivalent HPV vaccine alongside the current cervical cancer screening programme is likely to be cost-effective in Switzerland.

  9. Determinants of reproductive costs in the long-lived Black-legged Kittiwake: A multiyear experiment

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Golet, Gregory H.; Schmutz, Joel A.; Irons, David B.; Estes, James A.

    2004-01-01

    reserves) may be important mechanistic determinants of reproductive costs in kittiwakes, and potentially other long-lived species. Future efforts should move beyond simple assessments of body condition and toward more integrated measures of physiological condition when attempting to identify factors that influence how long-lived species balance the costs and benefits of reproduction.

  10. Social living mitigates the costs of a chronic illness in a cooperative carnivore

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Almberg, Emily S.; Cross, Paul C.; Dobson, Andrew P.; Smith, Douglas W.; Metz, Matthew C; Stahler, Daniel R.; Hudson, Peter J.

    2015-01-01

    Infection risk is assumed to increase with social group size, and thus be a cost of group living. We assess infection risk and costs with respect to group size using data from an epidemic of sarcoptic mange (Sarcoptes scabiei) among grey wolves (Canis lupus). We demonstrate that group size does not predict infection risk and that individual costs of infection, in terms of reduced survival, can be entirely offset by having sufficient numbers of pack-mates. Infected individuals experience increased mortality hazards with increasing proportions of infected pack-mates, but healthy individuals remain unaffected. The social support of group hunting and territory defence are two possible mechanisms mediating infection costs. This is likely a common phenomenon among other social species and chronic infections, but difficult to detect in systems where infection status cannot be measured continuously over time.

  11. The cost of Alzheimer's disease in China and re-estimation of costs worldwide.

    PubMed

    Jia, Jianping; Wei, Cuibai; Chen, Shuoqi; Li, Fangyu; Tang, Yi; Qin, Wei; Zhao, Lina; Jin, Hongmei; Xu, Hui; Wang, Fen; Zhou, Aihong; Zuo, Xiumei; Wu, Liyong; Han, Ying; Han, Yue; Huang, Liyuan; Wang, Qi; Li, Dan; Chu, Changbiao; Shi, Lu; Gong, Min; Du, Yifeng; Zhang, Jiewen; Zhang, Junjian; Zhou, Chunkui; Lv, Jihui; Lv, Yang; Xie, Haiqun; Ji, Yong; Li, Fang; Yu, Enyan; Luo, Benyan; Wang, Yanjiang; Yang, Shanshan; Qu, Qiumin; Guo, Qihao; Liang, Furu; Zhang, Jintao; Tan, Lan; Shen, Lu; Zhang, Kunnan; Zhang, Jinbiao; Peng, Dantao; Tang, Muni; Lv, Peiyuan; Fang, Boyan; Chu, Lan; Jia, Longfei; Gauthier, Serge

    2018-04-01

    The socioeconomic costs of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in China and its impact on global economic burden remain uncertain. We collected data from 3098 patients with AD in 81 representative centers across China and estimated AD costs for individual patient and total patients in China in 2015. Based on this data, we re-estimated the worldwide costs of AD. The annual socioeconomic cost per patient was US $19,144.36, and total costs were US $167.74 billion in 2015. The annual total costs are predicted to reach US $507.49 billion in 2030 and US $1.89 trillion in 2050. Based on our results, the global estimates of costs for dementia were US $957.56 billion in 2015, and will be US $2.54 trillion in 2030, and US $9.12 trillion in 2050, much more than the predictions by the World Alzheimer Report 2015. China bears a heavy burden of AD costs, which greatly change the estimates of AD cost worldwide. Copyright © 2017 the Alzheimer's Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Nursing home placement in the Donepezil and Memantine in Moderate to Severe Alzheimer's Disease (DOMINO-AD) trial: secondary and post-hoc analyses.

    PubMed

    Howard, Robert; McShane, Rupert; Lindesay, James; Ritchie, Craig; Baldwin, Ashley; Barber, Robert; Burns, Alistair; Dening, Tom; Findlay, David; Holmes, Clive; Jones, Robert; Jones, Roy; McKeith, Ian; Macharouthu, Ajay; O'Brien, John; Sheehan, Bart; Juszczak, Edmund; Katona, Cornelius; Hills, Robert; Knapp, Martin; Ballard, Clive; Brown, Richard G; Banerjee, Sube; Adams, Jessica; Johnson, Tony; Bentham, Peter; Phillips, Patrick P J

    2015-12-01

    Findings from observational studies have suggested a delay in nursing home placement with dementia drug treatment, but findings from a previous randomised trial of patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease showed no effect. We investigated the effects of continuation or discontinuation of donepezil and starting of memantine on subsequent nursing home placement in patients with moderate-to-severe Alzheimer's disease. In the randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled Donepezil and Memantine in Moderate to Severe Alzheimer's Disease (DOMINO-AD) trial, community-living patients with moderate-to-severe Alzheimer's disease (who had been prescribed donepezil continuously for at least 3 months at a dose of 10 mg for at least the previous 6 weeks and had a score of between 5 and 13 on the Standardised Mini-Mental State Examination) were recruited from 15 secondary care memory centres in England and Scotland and randomly allocated to continue donepezil 10 mg per day without memantine, discontinue donepezil without memantine, discontinue donepezil and start memantine 20 mg per day, or continue donepezil 10 mg per day and start memantine 20 mg per day, for 52 weeks. After 52 weeks, choice of treatment was left to participants and their physicians. Place of residence was recorded during the first 52 weeks of the trial and then every 26 weeks for a further 3 years. A secondary outcome of the trial, reported in this study, was nursing home placement: an irreversible move from independent accommodation to a residential caring facility. Analyses restricted to risk of placement in the first year of follow-up after the patients had completed the double-blind phase of the trial were post-hoc. The DOMINO-AD trial is registered with the ISRCTN Registry, number ISRCTN49545035. Between Feb 11, 2008, and March 5, 2010, 73 (25%) patients were randomly assigned to continue donepezil without memantine, 73 (25%) to discontinue donepezil without memantine, 76 (26%) to discontinue

  13. Integrated care of muscular dystrophies in Italy. Part 2. Psychological treatments, social and welfare support, and financial costs.

    PubMed

    Magliano, Lorenza; Scutifero, Marianna; Patalano, Melania; Sagliocchi, Alessandra; Zaccaro, Antonella; Civati, Federica; Brighina, Erika; Vita, Gianluca; Messina, Sonia; Sframeli, Maria; Lombardo, Maria Elena; Scalise, Roberta; Colia, Giulia; Catteruccia, Maria; Berardinelli, Angela; Motta, Maria Chiara; Gaiani, Alessandra; Semplicini, Claudio; Bello, Luca; Astrea, Guja; Ricci, Giulia; D'Angelo, Maria Grazia; Vita, Giuseppe; Pane, Marika; D'Amico, Adele; Balottin, Umberto; Angelini, Corrado; Battini, Roberta; Politano, Luisa

    2017-06-01

    This paper describes the psycho-social treatments received by 502 patients with MDs and their relatives, and the costs for care sustained by the families in the previous six month period. Data were collected by the MD-Care Schedule (MD-CS) and the Family Problems Questionnaire (FPQ). Psycho-educational interventions were provided to 72 patients (14.3%), and social/welfare support to 331 patients (65.9%). Social/welfare support was higher in patients with DMD or LGMD, in those showing more severe disability, and in patients who were in contact with centres located in Northern Italy. Psycho-educational interventions were received by 156 (31%) relatives, and social/welfare support by 55 (10.9%) and mainly provided by Family/Patients Associations (83.6%). Relatives with higher educational levels, who spent more daily hours in the assistance of patients with DMD, and in contact with centres in Central Italy more frequently benefited from psycho-educational interventions. In the previous year, costs for care were sustained by 314 (63.9%) relatives. Financial difficulties related to patient's condition, were higher in families of patients who needed more intensive rehabilitation and daily hours of caregiving, and in families who lived further away from the reference's centre. These results showed that psycho-social aspects of MDs care are only partially met in Italy, and that ad hoc supportive interventions for these patients and their families should be potentiated.

  14. Stress at work: development of the Stress Perception Questionnaire of Rome (SPQR), an ad hoc questionnaire for multidimensional assessment of work related stress.

    PubMed

    Cinti, M E; Cannavò, M; Fioravanti, M

    2017-01-01

    Stress is an emotional condition, mostly experienced as negative, initially identified and defined by Selye in the mid-thirties of the last Century. Since the first definition, stress concerns the adaptation pro- cess mostly related to environmental changes. An application of stress focuses on the evaluation of its interference on work conditions, and the scientific evidence on work related stress is very ample and rich. We are proposing a new ad hoc questionnaire for the multidimensional assessment of work related stress, called Stress Perception Question- naire of Rome (SPQR) composed of 50 items. The development of this questionnaire is based on a multi-step process: a) Identification of all the relevant topics to work related stress and areas in the scientific evidence and their transformation on specific contents of 60 tentative items; b) Exploratory factor analysis aimed to identify the best items (50) which could guarantee the maximum convergence on single scales (8), and the minimum redundancy between scales; c) Validation of the 8 scales' structure by a confirmatory factor analysis (fully achieved); d) Factor analysis for a second level factor resulting in a single factor identified as the questionnaire total score (Stress Score); d) Reliability analysis of the questionnaire total score and the single scale scores (at optimum level); e) Validation by external criteria of work related stress identified in the presence of personal violence episodes experienced by a group of health workers with different professional profiles and from two different hospitals in Rome. Our results show that the SPQR is a useful and sensitive tool for assessing the presence of emotional stress related problems identifiable in a work environment. The advantage of this questionnaire is that it allows for a multidimensional description of the different components of this problematic area besides its ability to quantify the overall stress level of those who have been administered

  15. Inflation: The Rising Cost of Living on a Small Planet. Worldwatch Paper 34.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fuller, Robert

    Global inflation should be viewed more as a sympton of social problems than as an economic disease that can be cured by monetary and fiscal policy. Social problems signaled by inflation include exploding demand, rising costs for essential commodities, stagnating productivity, and a decline in the real standard of living. Inflation is interpreted…

  16. Parents are a drag: long-lived birds share the cost of increased foraging effort with their offspring, but males pass on more of the costs than females.

    PubMed

    Jacobs, Shoshanah R; Elliott, Kyle Hamish; Gaston, Anthony J

    2013-01-01

    Life history theory predicts that parents will balance benefits from investment in current offspring against benefits from future reproductive investments. Long-lived organisms are therefore less likely to increase parental effort when environmental conditions deteriorate. To investigate the effect of decreased foraging capacity on parental behaviour of long-lived monogamous seabirds, we experimentally increased energy costs for chick-rearing thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia). Handicapped birds had lighter chicks and lower provisioning rates, supporting the prediction that long-lived animals would pass some of the costs of impaired foraging ability on to their offspring. Nonetheless, handicapped birds spent less time underwater, had longer inter-dive surface intervals, had lower body mass, showed lower resighting probabilities in subsequent years and consumed fewer risky prey items. Corticosterone levels were similar between control and handicapped birds. Apparently, adults shared some of the costs of impaired foraging, but those costs were not measurable in all metrics. Handicapped males had higher plasma neutral lipid concentrations (higher energy mobilisation) and their chicks exhibited lower growth rates than handicapped females, suggesting different sex-specific investment strategies. Unlike other studies of auks, partners did not compensate for handicapping, despite good foraging conditions for unhandicapped birds. In conclusion, parental murres and their offspring shared the costs of experimentally increased foraging constraints, with females investing more than males.

  17. Parents are a Drag: Long-Lived Birds Share the Cost of Increased Foraging Effort with Their Offspring, but Males Pass on More of the Costs than Females

    PubMed Central

    Jacobs, Shoshanah R.; Elliott, Kyle Hamish; Gaston, Anthony J.

    2013-01-01

    Life history theory predicts that parents will balance benefits from investment in current offspring against benefits from future reproductive investments. Long-lived organisms are therefore less likely to increase parental effort when environmental conditions deteriorate. To investigate the effect of decreased foraging capacity on parental behaviour of long-lived monogamous seabirds, we experimentally increased energy costs for chick-rearing thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia). Handicapped birds had lighter chicks and lower provisioning rates, supporting the prediction that long-lived animals would pass some of the costs of impaired foraging ability on to their offspring. Nonetheless, handicapped birds spent less time underwater, had longer inter-dive surface intervals, had lower body mass, showed lower resighting probabilities in subsequent years and consumed fewer risky prey items. Corticosterone levels were similar between control and handicapped birds. Apparently, adults shared some of the costs of impaired foraging, but those costs were not measurable in all metrics. Handicapped males had higher plasma neutral lipid concentrations (higher energy mobilisation) and their chicks exhibited lower growth rates than handicapped females, suggesting different sex-specific investment strategies. Unlike other studies of auks, partners did not compensate for handicapping, despite good foraging conditions for unhandicapped birds. In conclusion, parental murres and their offspring shared the costs of experimentally increased foraging constraints, with females investing more than males. PMID:23382921

  18. The Advantages of Using Planned Comparisons over Post Hoc Tests.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kuehne, Carolyn C.

    There are advantages to using a priori or planned comparisons rather than omnibus multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) tests followed by post hoc or a posteriori testing. A small heuristic data set is used to illustrate these advantages. An omnibus MANOVA test was performed on the data followed by a post hoc test (discriminant analysis). A…

  19. Automatically assessing properties of dynamic cameras for camera selection and rapid deployment of video content analysis tasks in large-scale ad-hoc networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    den Hollander, Richard J. M.; Bouma, Henri; van Rest, Jeroen H. C.; ten Hove, Johan-Martijn; ter Haar, Frank B.; Burghouts, Gertjan J.

    2017-10-01

    Video analytics is essential for managing large quantities of raw data that are produced by video surveillance systems (VSS) for the prevention, repression and investigation of crime and terrorism. Analytics is highly sensitive to changes in the scene, and for changes in the optical chain so a VSS with analytics needs careful configuration and prompt maintenance to avoid false alarms. However, there is a trend from static VSS consisting of fixed CCTV cameras towards more dynamic VSS deployments over public/private multi-organization networks, consisting of a wider variety of visual sensors, including pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras, body-worn cameras and cameras on moving platforms. This trend will lead to more dynamic scenes and more frequent changes in the optical chain, creating structural problems for analytics. If these problems are not adequately addressed, analytics will not be able to continue to meet end users' developing needs. In this paper, we present a three-part solution for managing the performance of complex analytics deployments. The first part is a register containing meta data describing relevant properties of the optical chain, such as intrinsic and extrinsic calibration, and parameters of the scene such as lighting conditions or measures for scene complexity (e.g. number of people). A second part frequently assesses these parameters in the deployed VSS, stores changes in the register, and signals relevant changes in the setup to the VSS administrator. A third part uses the information in the register to dynamically configure analytics tasks based on VSS operator input. In order to support the feasibility of this solution, we give an overview of related state-of-the-art technologies for autocalibration (self-calibration), scene recognition and lighting estimation in relation to person detection. The presented solution allows for rapid and robust deployment of Video Content Analysis (VCA) tasks in large scale ad-hoc networks.

  20. Algorithmic, LOCS and HOCS (chemistry) exam questions: performance and attitudes of college students

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zoller, Uri

    2002-02-01

    The performance of freshmen biology and physics-mathematics majors and chemistry majors as well as pre- and in-service chemistry teachers in two Israeli universities on algorithmic (ALG), lower-order cognitive skills (LOCS), and higher-order cognitive skills (HOCS) chemistry exam questions were studied. The driving force for the study was an interest in moving science and chemistry instruction from an algorithmic and factual recall orientation dominated by LOCS, to a decision-making, problem-solving and critical system thinking approach, dominated by HOCS. College students' responses to the specially designed ALG, LOCS and HOCS chemistry exam questions were scored and analysed for differences and correlation between the performance means within and across universities by the questions' category. This was followed by a combined student interview - 'speaking aloud' problem solving session for assessing the thinking processes involved in solving these types of questions and the students' attitudes towards them. The main findings were: (1) students in both universities performed consistently in each of the three categories in the order of ALG > LOCS > HOCS; their 'ideological' preference, was HOCS > algorithmic/LOCS, - referred to as 'computational questions', but their pragmatic preference was the reverse; (2) success on algorithmic/LOCS does not imply success on HOCS questions; algorithmic questions constitute a category on its own as far as students success in solving them is concerned. Our study and its results support the effort being made, worldwide, to integrate HOCS-fostering teaching and assessment strategies and, to develop HOCS-oriented science-technology-environment-society (STES)-type curricula within science and chemistry education.

  1. Social living mitigates the costs of a chronic illness in a cooperative carnivore.

    PubMed

    Almberg, E S; Cross, P C; Dobson, A P; Smith, D W; Metz, M C; Stahler, D R; Hudson, P J

    2015-07-01

    Infection risk is assumed to increase with social group size, and thus be a cost of group living. We assess infection risk and costs with respect to group size using data from an epidemic of sarcoptic mange (Sarcoptes scabiei) among grey wolves (Canis lupus). We demonstrate that group size does not predict infection risk and that individual costs of infection, in terms of reduced survival, can be entirely offset by having sufficient numbers of pack-mates. Infected individuals experience increased mortality hazards with increasing proportions of infected pack-mates, but healthy individuals remain unaffected. The social support of group hunting and territory defence are two possible mechanisms mediating infection costs. This is likely a common phenomenon among other social species and chronic infections, but difficult to detect in systems where infection status cannot be measured continuously over time. © 2015 The Authors Ecology Letters published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and CNRS.

  2. Cost of living dictates what whales, dolphins and porpoises eat: the importance of prey quality on predator foraging strategies.

    PubMed

    Spitz, Jérôme; Trites, Andrew W; Becquet, Vanessa; Brind'Amour, Anik; Cherel, Yves; Galois, Robert; Ridoux, Vincent

    2012-01-01

    Understanding the mechanisms that drive prey selection is a major challenge in foraging ecology. Most studies of foraging strategies have focused on behavioural costs, and have generally failed to recognize that differences in the quality of prey may be as important to predators as the costs of acquisition. Here, we tested whether there is a relationship between the quality of diets (kJ · g(-1)) consumed by cetaceans in the North Atlantic and their metabolic costs of living as estimated by indicators of muscle performance (mitochondrial density, n = 60, and lipid content, n = 37). We found that the cost of living of 11 cetacean species is tightly coupled with the quality of prey they consume. This relationship between diet quality and cost of living appears to be independent of phylogeny and body size, and runs counter to predictions that stem from the well-known scaling relationships between mass and metabolic rates. Our finding suggests that the quality of prey rather than the sheer quantity of food is a major determinant of foraging strategies employed by predators to meet their specific energy requirements. This predator-specific dependence on food quality appears to reflect the evolution of ecological strategies at a species level, and has implications for risk assessment associated with the consequences of changing the quality and quantities of prey available to top predators in marine ecosystems.

  3. Cost of Living Dictates what Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises Eat: The Importance of Prey Quality on Predator Foraging Strategies

    PubMed Central

    Spitz, Jérôme; Trites, Andrew W.; Becquet, Vanessa; Brind'Amour, Anik; Cherel, Yves; Galois, Robert; Ridoux, Vincent

    2012-01-01

    Understanding the mechanisms that drive prey selection is a major challenge in foraging ecology. Most studies of foraging strategies have focused on behavioural costs, and have generally failed to recognize that differences in the quality of prey may be as important to predators as the costs of acquisition. Here, we tested whether there is a relationship between the quality of diets (kJ·g−1) consumed by cetaceans in the North Atlantic and their metabolic costs of living as estimated by indicators of muscle performance (mitochondrial density, n = 60, and lipid content, n = 37). We found that the cost of living of 11 cetacean species is tightly coupled with the quality of prey they consume. This relationship between diet quality and cost of living appears to be independent of phylogeny and body size, and runs counter to predictions that stem from the well-known scaling relationships between mass and metabolic rates. Our finding suggests that the quality of prey rather than the sheer quantity of food is a major determinant of foraging strategies employed by predators to meet their specific energy requirements. This predator-specific dependence on food quality appears to reflect the evolution of ecological strategies at a species level, and has implications for risk assessment associated with the consequences of changing the quality and quantities of prey available to top predators in marine ecosystems. PMID:23185542

  4. Accommodation and Health Costs of Deinstitutionalized People with Mental Illness Living in Residential Services in Brazil.

    PubMed

    Razzouk, Denise

    2018-04-30

    Health costs are the main hindrances for expanding community mental health services. Exploring patient profiles and cost predictors may be useful for optimising financial resources. However, the deinstitutionalisation process may burden health budgets in terms of supporting multiple community services based on varying levels of need. This study assessed accommodation and health service costs, quality of life and clinical and psychosocial profiles among individuals receiving mental healthcare through residential services. Specific accommodation cost predictors were also verified. Health costs were assessed from the perspective of a public health provider using a microcosting bottom-up approach at 20 residential services in São Paulo, Brazil. Instruments used to assess health costs and patient profiles included the Brazilian version of the Client Socio-demographic and Service Receipt Inventory (CSSRI), the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), the Clinical Global Impression-Severity Scale (CGI-S), the Independent Living Skills Survey (ILLS), the Social Behaviour Scale (SBS) and the Quality of Life Scale (QLS). One hundred and forty-seven residents, predominantly experiencing psychotic disorders, were interviewed. The geographical region and length of time spent living in residential services or in a psychiatric hospital predicted 66% of the variance in accommodation costs. The CGI-S and ILLS scores and years of education explained 52.7% of the variance in quality of life. Accommodation costs were not driven by patient profile variables, while region and time spent in a hospital or in residential services were the main cost predictors. Semi-staffed homes may be an alternative for resource optimisation among individuals with mild impairment, particularly if strategies for psychosocial rehabilitation and improving quality of life are implemented.

  5. Should I stay or should I go? Hormonal control of nest abandonment in a long-lived bird, the Adélie penguin.

    PubMed

    Spée, Marion; Beaulieu, Michaël; Dervaux, Antoine; Chastel, Olivier; Le Maho, Yvon; Raclot, Thierry

    2010-11-01

    According to life-history theory, long-lived birds should favor their survival over the current reproductive attempt, when breeding becomes too costly. In seabirds, incubation is often associated with spontaneous long-term fasting. Below a threshold in body reserves, hormonal and metabolic shift characteristics of a switch from lipid to protein utilization (phase III, PIII) occur. These metabolic changes are paralleled by nest abandonment and stimulation of refeeding behavior. Parental behavior is then under control of two hormones with opposite effects: corticosterone (CORT) and prolactin which stimulate foraging and incubation behavior, respectively. The aim of this study was to determine the respective role of these two hormones in nest abandonment by Adélie penguins. To this end, plasma hormone levels were measured before egg-laying and at departure from the colony (i.e. when birds were relieved by their partner or abandoned their nest), and related to nutritional state and incubation success. We found that males abandoning their nest in PIII presented high CORT levels and low prolactin levels. Interestingly, males which presented high plasma levels of prolactin in PIII did not abandon. We show that although CORT is the first hormone to be affected by prolonged energy constraints, the combined effects of high CORT and low prolactin levels are necessary for parents to favor self-maintenance and abandon the nest. We provide insights into time-course changes of the endocrine profile as PIII proceeds and report that reaching proteolytic late fasting is not sufficient to induce nest abandonment in a long-lived bird. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Cross-layer design for intrusion detection and data security in wireless ad hoc sensor networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hortos, William S.

    2007-09-01

    A wireless ad hoc sensor network is a configuration for area surveillance that affords rapid, flexible deployment in arbitrary threat environments. There is no infrastructure support and sensor nodes communicate with each other only when they are in transmission range. The nodes are severely resource-constrained, with limited processing, memory and power capacities and must operate cooperatively to fulfill a common mission in typically unattended modes. In a wireless sensor network (WSN), each sensor at a node can observe locally some underlying physical phenomenon and sends a quantized version of the observation to sink (destination) nodes via wireless links. Since the wireless medium can be easily eavesdropped, links can be compromised by intrusion attacks from nodes that may mount denial-of-service attacks or insert spurious information into routing packets, leading to routing loops, long timeouts, impersonation, and node exhaustion. A cross-layer design based on protocol-layer interactions is proposed for detection and identification of various intrusion attacks on WSN operation. A feature set is formed from selected cross-layer parameters of the WSN protocol to detect and identify security threats due to intrusion attacks. A separate protocol is not constructed from the cross-layer design; instead, security attributes and quantified trust levels at and among nodes established during data exchanges complement customary WSN metrics of energy usage, reliability, route availability, and end-to-end quality-of-service (QoS) provisioning. Statistical pattern recognition algorithms are applied that use observed feature-set patterns observed during network operations, viewed as security audit logs. These algorithms provide the "best" network global performance in the presence of various intrusion attacks. A set of mobile (software) agents distributed at the nodes implement the algorithms, by moving among the layers involved in the network response at each active node

  7. [Cost-consequence analysis of respiratory preventive intervention among institutionalized older people: randomized controlled trial].

    PubMed

    Cebrià I Iranzo, Maria Dels Àngels; Tortosa-Chuliá, M Ángeles; Igual-Camacho, Celedonia; Sancho, Patricia; Galiana, Laura; Tomás, José Manuel

    2014-01-01

    The institutionalized elderly with functional impairment show a greater decline in respiratory muscle (RM) function. The aims of the study are to evaluate outcomes and costs of RM training using Pranayama in institutionalized elderly people with functional impairment. A randomized controlled trial was conducted on institutionalized elderly people with walking limitation (n=54). The intervention consisted of 6 weeks of Pranayama RM training (5 times/week). The outcomes were measured at 4 time points, and were related to RM function: the maximum respiratory pressures and the maximum voluntary ventilation. Perceived satisfaction in the experimental group (EG) was assessed by means of an ad hoc questionnaire. Direct and indirect costs were estimated from the social perspective. The GE showed a significant improvement related with strength (maximum respiratory pressures) and endurance (maximum voluntary ventilation) of RM. Moreover, 92% of the EG reported a high satisfaction. The total social costs, direct and indirect, amounted to Euro 21,678. This evaluation reveals that RM function improvement is significant, that intervention is well tolerated and appreciated by patients, and the intervention costs are moderate. Copyright © 2013 SEGG. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  8. 76 FR 9329 - Efficiency Initiative Effort To Reduce Non-Value-Added Costs Imposed on Industry by Department of...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-02-17

    ..., backed by specific, credible, convincing data. DoD's goal is to develop a fact-based program to reform... changes that can only be made over the longer term or require additional follow-up data before they are... data that it needs along with information about some additional areas of non-value- added cost...

  9. Adding A Measure Of Patient Self-Management Capability To Risk Assessment Can Improve Prediction Of High Costs.

    PubMed

    Hibbard, Judith H; Greene, Jessica; Sacks, Rebecca; Overton, Valerie; Parrotta, Carmen D

    2016-03-01

    We explored whether supplementing a clinical risk score with a behavioral measure could improve targeting of the patients most in need of supports that reduce their risk of costly service utilization. Using data from a large health system that determines patient self-management capability using the Patient Activation Measure, we examined utilization of hospital and emergency department care by the 15 percent of patients with the highest clinical risk scores. After controlling for risk scores and placing patients within segments based on their level of activation in 2011, we found that the lower the activation level, the higher the utilization and cost of hospital services in each of the following three years. These findings demonstrate that adding a measure of patient self-management capability to a risk assessment can improve prediction of high care costs and inform actions to better meet patient needs. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

  10. Alzheimer disease: diagnosis, costs, and dimensions of treatment.

    PubMed

    DeKosky, S T; Orgogozo, J M

    2001-08-01

    Alzheimer disease (AD) is the most frequent cause of dementia in developed Western countries. Over time, affected patients invariably develop cognitive and functional decline, and most develop early or later behavioral disturbances. Declining cognitive and functional abilities contribute to loss of independent living and feelings of denial, confusion, fear and guilt until, finally, the patient loses most abilities to think, move, speak, or perceive. As patients' dependency on assistance increases, the level of caregiver strain rises. The caregiver may develop feelings of anger, grief, loneliness and resentment, and the health and well-being of most caregivers are often affected. Approximately 3-4 million people currently have AD in the USA, at an annual cost of up to US$100 billion, and the disease is expected to reach epidemic proportions by 2020. To achieve a clinically relevant, long-term outcome, pharmacotherapy must have sustained favorable effects on cognitive, functional and behavioral symptoms of AD. Slowing the development of these features of the disease will mean a long-term improvement in quality of life for patients and caregivers. Postponing the emergence of behavioral symptoms would bring about direct beneficial effects on patients with AD and their families, help delay long-term care placement and lower costs.

  11. Cost of Living and Taxation Adjustments in Salary Comparisons. AIR 1993 Annual Forum Paper.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zeglen, Marie E.; Tesfagiorgis, Gebre

    This study examined faculty salaries at 50 higher education institutions using methods to adjust salaries for geographic differences, cost of living, and tax burdens so that comparisons were based on real rather than nominal value of salaries. The study sample consisted of one public doctorate granting institution from each state and used salary…

  12. 20 CFR 225.41 - How a cost-of-living increase is determined and applied.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 20 Employees' Benefits 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false How a cost-of-living increase is determined and applied. 225.41 Section 225.41 Employees' Benefits RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD REGULATIONS UNDER THE... trust funds, the increase can be based on rises in either the consumer price index as published by the...

  13. The Economic Cost of Environmental Factors Among North Carolina Children Living in Substandard Housing

    PubMed Central

    Estes, Chris; Lee, Christopher

    2009-01-01

    Objectives. We quantified the economic cost of selected environmental factors among North Carolina children living in substandard housing. Methods. We gathered data on direct medical care costs for specific childhood medical conditions associated with environmental factors commonly found in substandard housing. Medical claims data for 2006 and 2007 were obtained from BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Indirect costs were based in part on nonmedical data obtained from several previous studies. Results. Total (direct and indirect) costs for the conditions assessed exceeded $92 million in 2006 and $108 million in 2007. Neurobehavioral conditions contributed to more than 52% of all costs, followed by lead poisoning (20%) and respiratory conditions (12%). Neurobehavioral conditions were the largest contributor to direct medical costs (44%), followed by respiratory conditions (38%) and accidental burns and falls (10%). Conclusions. Direct and indirect costs associated with environmental factors appear to be increasing at about twice the rate of medical inflation. More aggressive policies and funding are needed to reduce the substantial financial impact of childhood illnesses associated with substandard housing in North Carolina. PMID:19890173

  14. Post hoc analyses: after the facts.

    PubMed

    Srinivas, Titte R; Ho, Bing; Kang, Joseph; Kaplan, Bruce

    2015-01-01

    Prospective clinical trials are constructed with high levels of internal validity. Sample size and power considerations usually address primary endpoints. Primary endpoints have traditionally included events that are becoming increasingly less common and thus have led to growing use of composite endpoints and noninferiority trial designs in transplantation. This approach may mask real clinical benefit in one or the other domain with regard to either clinically relevant secondary endpoints or other unexpected findings. In addition, endpoints solely chosen based on power considerations are prone to misjudgment of actual treatment effect size as well as consistency of that effect. In the instances where treatment effects may have been underestimated, valuable information may be lost if buried within a composite endpoint. In all these cases, analyses and post hoc analyses of data become relevant in informing practitioners about clinical benefits or safety signals that may not be captured by the primary endpoint. On the other hand, there are many pitfalls in using post hoc determined endpoints. This short review is meant to allow readers to appreciate post hoc analysis not as an entity with a single approach, but rather as an analysis with unique limitations and strengths that often raise new questions to be addressed in further inquiries.

  15. Evaluating the delivery, impact, costs and benefits of an active lives programme for older people living in the community.

    PubMed

    Gandy, Rob; Bell, Amelia; McClelland, Bob; Roe, Brenda

    2017-03-01

    Aim Age UK Lancashire received Big Lottery funding to deliver an active lives programme from January 2012 to December 2014 to the population of West Lancashire aged over 50 years. The overall aims of the associated evaluation were to measure older people's experiences of participating in the programme, identify the impacts on their health and well-being and their suggestions for services development, and establish the costs and benefits of the programme. The World Health Organisation recommends older people should be able to achieve physical, social and mental well-being throughout their lives, and that international, national and local policies should be developed to support older adults, promote their independence and well-being, and encourage physical exercise. Consequently, the West Lancashire programme was to establish preventative community support for older people to assist in improving their well-being and physical and mental health, particularly those isolated due to age-related illness or disability. It was to provide interventions not available from local social care providers. A mixed methods approach was adopted, with the qualitative evaluation utilising focus groups to establish people's experiences, identify impacts on their health and well-being, and suggestions for services development. This paper describes the quantitative evaluation, which involved three surveys and a costs analysis. The surveys were scheduled to give timely feedback to management about programme delivery and content, and overall benefits of participation. Findings The active lives programme and groups offered a wide range of flexible and local activities that provided benefits for older people in terms of health and well-being, social well-being and quality of life, and reducing social isolation. There was interconnectivity between these benefits. The programme was delivered in an affordable and flexible manner. Such programmes should be made more widely available.

  16. Cost-effective advertising through TV and newspaper "banner" ads.

    PubMed

    Gombeski, William R; Taylor, Jan; Krauss, Katie; Medeiros, Clayton

    2003-01-01

    Banner ads, small strip ads in newspapers used to specifically promote an information piece, were introduced into one newspaper in the Connecticut market in 1999 by Yale-New Haven Hospital (YNHH). Based on their success, the concept was expanded to six additional newspapers in late 2000 and to TV in the summer of 2001. Between 2000-2002, even as the overall marketing/advertising budget declined 30%, switching advertising dollars from image/display ads to banner ads resulted in consumer awareness of YNHH increasing from 29% to 42%. Perception of YNHH as "the advanced medicine" hospital grew from 22% to 40% during the same period. The specific strategic and operational actions generated since the implementation of the program are detailed and the advantages and disadvantages of this banner advertising approach are discussed. Banner ads may offer an alternative approach for organizations to advertise their products and programs.

  17. On the Post Hoc Power in Testing Mean Differences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yuan, Ke-Hai; Maxwell, Scott

    2005-01-01

    Retrospective or post hoc power analysis is recommended by reviewers and editors of many journals. Little literature has been found that gave a serious study of the post hoc power. When the sample size is large, the observed effect size is a good estimator of the true power. This article studies whether such a power estimator provides valuable…

  18. The Hub Population Health System: distributed ad hoc queries and alerts

    PubMed Central

    Anane, Sheila; Taverna, John; Amirfar, Sam; Stubbs-Dame, Remle; Singer, Jesse

    2011-01-01

    The Hub Population Health System enables the creation and distribution of queries for aggregate count information, clinical decision support alerts at the point-of-care for patients who meet specified conditions, and secure messages sent directly to provider electronic health record (EHR) inboxes. Using a metronidazole medication recall, the New York City Department of Health was able to determine the number of affected patients and message providers, and distribute an alert to participating practices. As of September 2011, the system is live in 400 practices and within a year will have over 532 practices with 2500 providers, representing over 2.5 million New Yorkers. The Hub can help public health experts to evaluate population health and quality improvement activities throughout the ambulatory care network. Multiple EHR vendors are building these features in partnership with the department's regional extension center in anticipation of new meaningful use requirements. PMID:22071531

  19. A Comparison of Problem Behavior Profiles in Turkish Children with AD/HD and Non-AD/HD Children

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ozdemir, Selda

    2010-01-01

    Introduction: There is an increasing number of studies describing the symptoms of ADHD among school-age children in western cultures. Yet, studies on children with ADHD living in non-western cultures are limited. Thus, the purpose of this study was to compare problem behavior profiles of Turkish children with AD/HD and non-AD/HD children. Method:…

  20. 78 FR 71501 - Cost of Living Adjustment for Performance of Musical Compositions by Colleges and Universities

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-11-29

    ... LIBRARY OF CONGRESS Copyright Royalty Board 37 CFR Part 381 [Docket No. 2013-9 CRB NCEB COLA] Cost of Living Adjustment for Performance of Musical Compositions by Colleges and Universities AGENCY: Copyright Royalty Board, Library of Congress. ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: The Copyright Royalty Judges...

  1. 76 FR 74703 - Cost of Living Adjustment for Performance of Musical Compositions by Colleges and Universities

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-12-01

    ... LIBRARY OF CONGRESS Copyright Royalty Board 37 CFR Part 381 [Docket No. 2011-9 CRB NCEB COLA] Cost of Living Adjustment for Performance of Musical Compositions by Colleges and Universities AGENCY: Copyright Royalty Board, Library of Congress. ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: The Copyright Royalty Judges...

  2. Quantification of live Lactobacillus acidophilus in mixed populations of live and killed by application of attenuated reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy combined with chemometrics.

    PubMed

    Toziou, Peristera-Maria; Barmpalexis, Panagiotis; Boukouvala, Paraskevi; Verghese, Susan; Nikolakakis, Ioannis

    2018-05-30

    Since culture-based methods are costly and time consuming, alternative methods are investigated for the quantification of probiotics in commercial products. In this work ATR- FTIR vibration spectroscopy was applied for the differentiation and quantification of live Lactobacillus (La 5) in mixed populations of live and killed La 5, in the absence and in the presence of enteric polymer Eudragit ® L 100-55. Suspensions of live (La 5_L) and killed in acidic environment bacillus (La 5_K) were prepared and binary mixtures of different percentages were used to grow cell cultures for colony counting and spectral analysis. The increase in the number of colonies with added%La 5_L to the mixture was log-linear (r 2  = 0.926). Differentiation of La 5_L from La 5_K was possible directly from the peak area at 1635 cm -1 (amides of proteins and peptides) and a linear relationship between%La 5_L and peak area in the range 0-95% was obtained. Application of partial least squares regression (PLSR) gave reasonable prediction of%La 5_L (RMSEp = 6.48) in binary mixtures of live and killed La 5 but poor prediction (RMSEp = 11.75) when polymer was added to the La 5 mixture. Application of artificial neural networks (ANNs) improved greatly the predictive ability for%La 5_L both in the absence and in the presence of polymer (RMSEp = 8.11 × 10 -8 for La 5 only mixtures and RMSEp = 8.77 × 10 -8 with added polymer) due to their ability to express in the calibration models more hidden spectral information than PLSR. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. [Implementation of interdisciplinary multimodal pain therapy according to OPS 8‑918 : Recommendations of the ad hoc commission for interdisciplinary multimodal pain therapy of the German Pain Association].

    PubMed

    Arnold, B; Böger, A; Brinkschmidt, T; Casser, H-R; Irnich, D; Kaiser, U; Klimczyk, K; Lutz, J; Pfingsten, M; Sabatowski, R; Schiltenwolf, M; Söllner, W

    2018-02-01

    With the implementation of the German diagnosis-related groups (DRG) reimbursement system in hospitals, interdisciplinary multimodal pain therapy was incorporated into the associated catalogue of procedures (OPS 8‑918). Yet, the presented criteria describing the procedure of interdisciplinary multimodal pain therapy are neither precise nor unambiguous. This has led to discrepancies in the interpretation regarding the handling of the procedure-making it difficult for medical services of health insurance companies to evaluate the accordance between the delivered therapy and the required criteria. Since the number of pain units has increased in recent years, the number of examinations by the medical service of health insurance companies has increased. This article, published by the ad hoc commission for interdisciplinary multimodal pain therapy of the German Pain Association, provides specific recommendations for correct implementation of interdisciplinary multimodal pain therapy in routine care. The aim is to achieve a maximum level of accordance between health care providers and the requirements of the medical examiners from health insurance companies. More extensive criteria regarding interdisciplinary multimodal pain treatment in an in-patient setting, especially for patients with chronic and complex pain, are obviously needed. Thus, the authors further discuss specific aspects towards further development of the OPS-code. However, the application of the OPS-code still leaves room regarding treatment intensity and process quality. Therefore, the delivery of pain management in sufficient quantity and quality still remains the responsibility of each health care provider.

  4. Cost Effectiveness of Falls and Injury Prevention Strategies for Older Adults Living in Residential Aged Care Facilities.

    PubMed

    Church, Jody L; Haas, Marion R; Goodall, Stephen

    2015-12-01

    To evaluate the cost effectiveness of interventions designed to prevent falls and fall-related injuries among older people living in residential aged care facilities (RACFs) from an Australian health care perspective. A decision analytic Markov model was developed that stratified individuals according to their risk of falling and accounted for the risk of injury following a fall. The effectiveness of the interventions was derived from two Cochrane reviews of randomized controlled trials for falls/fall-related injury prevention in RACFs. Interventions were considered effective if they reduced the risk of falling or reduced the risk of injury following a fall. The interventions that were modelled included vitamin D supplementation, annual medication review, multifactorial intervention (a combination of risk assessment, medication review, vision assessment and exercise) and hip protectors. The cost effectiveness was calculated as the incremental cost relative to the incremental benefit, in which the benefit was estimated using quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). Uncertainty was explored using univariate and probabilistic sensitivity analysis. Vitamin D supplementation and medication review both dominated 'no intervention', as these interventions were both more effective and cost saving (because of healthcare costs avoided). Hip protectors are dominated (less effective and more costly) by vitamin D and medication review. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) for medication review relative to vitamin D supplementation is AU$2442 per QALY gained, and the ICER for multifactorial intervention relative to medication review is AU$1,112,500 per QALY gained. The model is most sensitive to the fear of falling and the cost of the interventions. The model suggests that vitamin D supplementation and medication review are cost-effective interventions that reduce falls, provide health benefits and reduce health care costs in older adults living in RACFs.

  5. Comprehensive health assessments for adults with intellectual disability living in the community - weighing up the costs and benefits.

    PubMed

    Gordon, Louisa G; Holden, Libby; Ware, Robert S; Taylor, Miriam T; Lennox, Nicholas G

    2012-12-01

    Health assessments have beneficial effects on health outcomes for people with intellectual disability living in the community. However, the effect on medical costs is unknown. We utilised Medicare Australia data on consultations, procedures and prescription drugs (including vaccinations) from all participants in a randomised control trial during 2002-03 that examined the effectiveness of a health assessment. Government health costs for adults with intellectual disability who did or did not receive an assessment were compared. Bootstrapping statistics (95% confidence interval) were employed to handle the right-skewed cost data. Over 12 months, patients receiving health assessments incurred total costs of $4523 (95% CI: $3521 to $5525) similar to those in usual care $4466 (95% CI: $3283 to $5649). Costs were not significantly higher compared with the 12 month pre-intervention period. Health assessments for adults with intellectual disability living in the community are encouraged as they produce enhanced patient care but do not increase overall consultation or medication costs.

  6. Success rates and cost of a live birth following fresh assisted reproduction treatment in women aged 45 years and older, Australia 2002-2004.

    PubMed

    Sullivan, Elizabeth; Wang, Yueping; Chapman, Michael; Chambers, Georgina

    2008-07-01

    The aim of this study was to calculate assisted reproductive technology (ART) success rates for fresh autologous and donor cycles in women aged > or = 45 and the resultant cost per live birth. We performed a retrospective population-based study of 2339 ART cycles conducted in Australia, 2002-2004 to women aged > or = 45 years. The cost-outcome study was performed on fresh autologous treatment cycles. There were 1101 fresh autologous cycles initiated in women aged > or = 45, with a pregnancy rate of 1.9 per 100 initiated cycles. There were 21 women who achieved a clinical pregnancy with 15 (71%) ending in early pregnancy loss and 6 in live singleton births. The live birth rate following fresh autologous initiated cycles was 0.5% [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.1-1.0%]. Fresh donor recipients had an higher live birth rate of 19.1% (95% CI: 15.1-23.2) (odds ratio 43.2; 95% CI: 18.6-100.3) compared with women having fresh autologous cycles. The average cost of a live birth following fresh autologous cycles was 753,107 euros. The success rate of fresh autologous treatment for women aged > or = 45 years was < 1%. The very high cost of a live birth reflects a treatment failure rate of > 99%. The ART profession should counsel patients of the reality of the technology before the patients consent to treatment.

  7. Adding Value by Hospital Real Estate: An Exploration of Dutch Practice.

    PubMed

    van der Zwart, Johan; van der Voordt, Theo J M

    2016-01-01

    To explore how hospital real estate can add value to the healthcare organization, which values are prioritized in practice, and why. Dutch healthcare organizations are self-responsible for the costs and benefits of their accommodation. Meanwhile, a lively debate is going on about possible added values of corporate and public real estate in the fields of corporate real estate management and facility management. This article connects both worlds and compares insights from literature with experiences from practice. Added values extracted from literature have been discussed with 15 chief executive officers and project leaders of recently newly built hospitals in the Netherlands. Interviewees were asked (1) which values are included in the design and management of their hospital and why, (2) to prioritize most important values from a list of nine predefined values, and (3) to explain how the chosen real estate decisions are supposed to support organizational objectives. Stimulating innovation, user satisfaction, and improving organizational culture are most highly valued, followed by improving productivity, reducing building costs, and creating building flexibility. Image, risk control, and financing possibilities got lower rankings. The findings have been used to develop a value-impact matrix that connects nine values to various stakeholders and possible interventions. The findings and the value-impact matrix can make different stakeholders aware of many possible added values of hospital real estate, potential synergy and conflicts between different values, and how to steer on value add in different phases of the life cycle. © The Author(s) 2015.

  8. Cost-effectiveness analysis of adding low dose ribavirin to peginterferon alfa-2a for treatment of chronic hepatitis C infected thalassemia major patients in iran.

    PubMed

    Mehrazmay, Alireza; Alavian, Seyed Moayed; Moradi-Lakeh, Maziar; Mokhtari Payam, Mahdi; Hashemi-Meshkini, Amir; Behnava, Bita; Miri, Seyyed Mohammad; Karimi Elizee, Pegah; Tabatabaee, Seyed Vahid; Keshvari, Maryam; Bagheri Lankarani, Kamran

    2013-01-01

    The prevalence of hepatitis C in Iran is 1% and 18% in general population and thalassemia patients respectively. The cost effectiveness analysis of adding Ribavirin to Peginterferon alfa-2a (PEG IFN alfa-2a) as a combination treatment strategy of chronic hepatitis C in thalassemia patients in comparison with monotherapy could help clinicians and policy makers to provide the best treatment for the patients. In this study we aimed to assess whether adding Ribavirin to PEG IFN alfa-2a is a cost effective strategy in different genotypes and different subgroups of 280 patients with chronic hepatitis C infection from the perspective of society in Iranian setting. A cost effectiveness analysis including all costs and outcomes of treatments for chronic hepatitis C infected thalassemia major patients was conducted. We constructed a decision tree of treatment course in which a hypothetical cohort of 100 patients received "PEG IFN alfa-2a" or "Peg IFN alfa-2a plus Ribavirin." The cost analysis was based on cost data for 2008 and we used 9300 Iranian Rials (IR Rial) as exchange rate declared by the Iranian Central Bank on that time to calculating costs by US Dollar (USD). To evaluate whether a strategy is cost effective, one time and three times of GDP per capita were used as threshold based on recommendation of the World Health Organization. The Incremental Cost Effectiveness Ratio (ICER) for combination therapy in genotype-1 and genotypes non-1 subgroups was 2,673 and 19,211 US dollars (USD) per one Sustain Virological Response (SVR), respectively. In low viral load and high viral load subgroups, the ICER was 5,233 and 14,976 USD per SVR, respectively. The calculated ICER for combination therapy in subgroup of patients with previously resistant to monotherapy was 13,006 USD per SVR. Combination therapy in previously resistant patients to combination therapy was a dominant strategy. Adding low dose of Ribavirin to PEG IFN alfa-2a for treatment of chronic hepatitis C patients

  9. Cost-effectiveness of extended-release niacin/laropiprant added to a stable simvastatin dose in secondary prevention patients not at cholesterol goal in Germany.

    PubMed

    Michailov, Galin V; Davies, Glenn M; Krobot, Karl J

    2012-06-01

    Coronary heart disease (CHD) remains the leading cause of death in Germany despite statin use to reduce low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels; improving lipids beyond LDL-C may further reduce cardiovascular risk. A fixed-dose combination of extended-release niacin (ERN) with laropiprant (LRPT) provides comprehensive lipid management. We adapted a decision-analytic model to evaluate the economic value (incremental cost-effectiveness ratio [ICER] in terms of costs per life-years gained [LYG]) of ERN/LRPT 2 g over a lifetime in secondary prevention patients in a German setting. Two scenarios were modelled: (1) ERN/LRPT 2 g added to simvastatin 40 mg in patients not at LDL-C goal with simvastatin 40 mg; (2) adding ERN/LRPT 2 g compared with titration to simvastatin 40 mg in patients not at LDL-C goal with simvastatin 20 mg. In both scenarios, adding ERN/LRPT was cost-effective relative to simvastatin monotherapy at a commonly accepted threshold of €30,000 per LYG; ICERs for ERN/LRPT were €13,331 per LYG in scenario 1 and €17,684 per LYG in scenario 2. Subgroup analyses showed that ERN/LRPT was cost-effective in patients with or without diabetes, patients aged ≤ 65 or >65 years and patients with low baseline high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels; ICERs ranged from €10,342 to €15,579 in scenario 1, and from €14,081 to €20,462 in scenario 2. In conclusion, comprehensive lipid management with ERN/LRPT 2 g is cost-effective in secondary prevention patients in Germany who have not achieved LDL-C goal with simvastatin monotherapy.

  10. A user-friendly approach to cost accounting in laboratory animal facilities.

    PubMed

    Baker, David G

    2011-08-19

    Cost accounting is an essential management activity for laboratory animal facility management. In this report, the author describes basic principles of cost accounting and outlines steps for carrying out cost accounting in laboratory animal facilities. Methods of post hoc cost accounting analysis for maximizing the efficiency of facility operations are also described.

  11. Cost-effectiveness of adding indoor residual spraying to case management in Afghan refugee settlements in Northwest Pakistan during a prolonged malaria epidemic.

    PubMed

    Howard, Natasha; Guinness, Lorna; Rowland, Mark; Durrani, Naeem; Hansen, Kristian S

    2017-10-01

    Financing of malaria control for displaced populations is limited in scope and duration, making cost-effectiveness analyses relevant but difficult. This study analyses cost-effectiveness of adding prevention through targeted indoor residual spraying (IRS) to case management in Afghan refugee settlements in Pakistan during a prolonged malaria epidemic. An intervention study design was selected, taking a societal perspective. Provider and household costs of vector control and case management were collected from provider records and community survey. Health outcomes (e.g. cases and DALYs averted) were derived and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) for cases prevented and DALYs averted calculated. Population, treatment cost, women's time, days of productivity lost, case fatality rate, cases prevented, and DALY assumptions were tested in sensitivity analysis. Malaria incidence peaked at 44/1,000 population in year 2, declining to 14/1,000 in year 5. In total, 370,000 malaria cases, 80% vivax, were diagnosed and treated and an estimated 67,988 vivax cases and 18,578 falciparum and mixed cases prevented. Mean annual programme cost per capita was US$0.56. The additional cost of including IRS over five years per case prevented was US$39; US$50 for vivax (US$43 in years 1-3, US$80 in years 4-5) and US$182 for falciparum (US$139 in years 1-3 and US$680 in years 4-5). Per DALY averted this was US$266 (US$220 in years 1-3 and US$486 in years 4-5) and thus 'highly cost-effective' or cost-effective using WHO and comparison thresholds. Adding IRS was cost-effective in this moderate endemicity, low mortality setting. It was more cost-effective when transmission was highest, becoming less so as transmission reduced. Because vivax was three times more common than falciparum and the case fatality rate was low, cost-effectiveness estimations for cases prevented appear reliable and more definitive for vivax malaria.

  12. Cost-effectiveness of adding indoor residual spraying to case management in Afghan refugee settlements in Northwest Pakistan during a prolonged malaria epidemic

    PubMed Central

    Guinness, Lorna; Rowland, Mark; Durrani, Naeem; Hansen, Kristian S.

    2017-01-01

    Introduction Financing of malaria control for displaced populations is limited in scope and duration, making cost-effectiveness analyses relevant but difficult. This study analyses cost-effectiveness of adding prevention through targeted indoor residual spraying (IRS) to case management in Afghan refugee settlements in Pakistan during a prolonged malaria epidemic. Methods/Findings An intervention study design was selected, taking a societal perspective. Provider and household costs of vector control and case management were collected from provider records and community survey. Health outcomes (e.g. cases and DALYs averted) were derived and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) for cases prevented and DALYs averted calculated. Population, treatment cost, women’s time, days of productivity lost, case fatality rate, cases prevented, and DALY assumptions were tested in sensitivity analysis. Malaria incidence peaked at 44/1,000 population in year 2, declining to 14/1,000 in year 5. In total, 370,000 malaria cases, 80% vivax, were diagnosed and treated and an estimated 67,988 vivax cases and 18,578 falciparum and mixed cases prevented. Mean annual programme cost per capita was US$0.56. The additional cost of including IRS over five years per case prevented was US$39; US$50 for vivax (US$43 in years 1–3, US$80 in years 4–5) and US$182 for falciparum (US$139 in years 1–3 and US$680 in years 4–5). Per DALY averted this was US$266 (US$220 in years 1–3 and US$486 in years 4–5) and thus ‘highly cost-effective’ or cost-effective using WHO and comparison thresholds. Conclusions Adding IRS was cost-effective in this moderate endemicity, low mortality setting. It was more cost-effective when transmission was highest, becoming less so as transmission reduced. Because vivax was three times more common than falciparum and the case fatality rate was low, cost-effectiveness estimations for cases prevented appear reliable and more definitive for vivax malaria

  13. Reinforcement learning for routing in cognitive radio ad hoc networks.

    PubMed

    Al-Rawi, Hasan A A; Yau, Kok-Lim Alvin; Mohamad, Hafizal; Ramli, Nordin; Hashim, Wahidah

    2014-01-01

    Cognitive radio (CR) enables unlicensed users (or secondary users, SUs) to sense for and exploit underutilized licensed spectrum owned by the licensed users (or primary users, PUs). Reinforcement learning (RL) is an artificial intelligence approach that enables a node to observe, learn, and make appropriate decisions on action selection in order to maximize network performance. Routing enables a source node to search for a least-cost route to its destination node. While there have been increasing efforts to enhance the traditional RL approach for routing in wireless networks, this research area remains largely unexplored in the domain of routing in CR networks. This paper applies RL in routing and investigates the effects of various features of RL (i.e., reward function, exploitation, and exploration, as well as learning rate) through simulation. New approaches and recommendations are proposed to enhance the features in order to improve the network performance brought about by RL to routing. Simulation results show that the RL parameters of the reward function, exploitation, and exploration, as well as learning rate, must be well regulated, and the new approaches proposed in this paper improves SUs' network performance without significantly jeopardizing PUs' network performance, specifically SUs' interference to PUs.

  14. Reinforcement Learning for Routing in Cognitive Radio Ad Hoc Networks

    PubMed Central

    Al-Rawi, Hasan A. A.; Mohamad, Hafizal; Hashim, Wahidah

    2014-01-01

    Cognitive radio (CR) enables unlicensed users (or secondary users, SUs) to sense for and exploit underutilized licensed spectrum owned by the licensed users (or primary users, PUs). Reinforcement learning (RL) is an artificial intelligence approach that enables a node to observe, learn, and make appropriate decisions on action selection in order to maximize network performance. Routing enables a source node to search for a least-cost route to its destination node. While there have been increasing efforts to enhance the traditional RL approach for routing in wireless networks, this research area remains largely unexplored in the domain of routing in CR networks. This paper applies RL in routing and investigates the effects of various features of RL (i.e., reward function, exploitation, and exploration, as well as learning rate) through simulation. New approaches and recommendations are proposed to enhance the features in order to improve the network performance brought about by RL to routing. Simulation results show that the RL parameters of the reward function, exploitation, and exploration, as well as learning rate, must be well regulated, and the new approaches proposed in this paper improves SUs' network performance without significantly jeopardizing PUs' network performance, specifically SUs' interference to PUs. PMID:25140350

  15. The dose-response effects of aerobic exercise on musculoskeletal injury: a post hoc analysis of a randomized trial.

    PubMed

    Brown, Justin C; Schmitz, Kathryn H

    2017-01-01

    In a post hoc analysis, we quantified the risk of musculoskeletal injury (MSI) associated with different volumes of aerobic exercise in a randomized trial. Premenopausal women (n = 119) were randomized to one of three groups: low-dose aerobic exercise (150 min·per week), high-dose aerobic exercise (300 min·per week) or control (usual activity) for 5 months. Compared to the control group, the risk of reporting an acute MSI increased with higher volumes of aerobic exercise, with a similar pattern observed for recurrent MSI. The risk of reporting an MSI severe enough to impair activities of daily living did not increase with higher volumes of aerobic exercise. Approximately half of MSI were causally attributed to aerobic exercise. The risk of experiencing an acute or recurrent MSI increases with higher volumes of aerobic exercise; however, the risk of experiencing an MSI severe enough to impair activities of daily living does not increase with higher volumes of aerobic exercise.

  16. [Health evaluation of trichloroethylene in indoor air : communication from the German ad-hoc working group on indoor guidelines of the Indoor Air Hygiene Committee and of the states' supreme health authorities].

    PubMed

    2015-07-01

    In the European Hazardous Substances Regulation No 1272/2008 trichloroethylene has been classified as a probable human carcinogen and a suspected mutagen. According to several Committees (German Committee on Hazardous Substances, European Scientific Committee on Occupational Exposure Limits, European Chemicals Agency´s Committee for Risk Assessment (ECHA-RAC)) concentrations of trichloroethylene cytotoxic to renal tubuli may increase the risk to develop renal cancer. At non-cytotoxic concentrations of trichloroethylene a much lower cancer risk may be assumed. Therefore, evaluating the cancer risk to the public following inhalation of trichloroethylene ECHA-RAC has assumed a sublinear exposure-response relationship for carcinogenicity of trichloroethylene. Specifically, ECHA-RAC assessed a cancer risk of 6.4 × 10(- 5) (mg/m(3))(- 1) following life time exposure to trichloroethylene below a NOAEC for renal cytotoxicity of 6 mg trichloroethylene/m(3). Further evaluation yields a life-time risk of 10(- 6) corresponding to 0.02 mg trichloroethylene/m(3). This concentration is well above the reference (e.g. background) concentration of trichloroethylene in indoor air. Consequently the Ad-hoc Working Group on Indoor Guidelines recommends 0.02 mg trichloroethylene/m(3) as a risk-related guideline for indoor air. Measures to reduce exposure are considered inappropriate at concentrations below this guideline.

  17. Half-BPS Wilson loop and AdS 2/CFT 1

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Giombi, Simone; Roiban, Radu; Tseytlin, Arkady A.

    Here, we study correlation functions of local operator insertions on the 1/2-BPS Wilson line in N=4 super Yang–Mills theory. These correlation functions are constrained by the 1d superconformal symmetry pre-served by the 1/2-BPS Wilson line and define a defect CFT 1 living on the line. At strong coupling, a set of elementary operator insertions with protected scaling dimensions correspond to fluctuations of the dual fundamental string in AdS 5×S 5 ending on the line at the boundary and can be thought of as light fields propagating on the AdS 2 worldsheet. We use AdS/CFT techniques to compute the tree-level AdSmore » 2 Witten diagrams describing the strong coupling limit of the four-point functions of the dual operator insertions. Using the OPE, we also extract the leading strong coupling corrections to the anomalous dimensions of the “two-particle” operators built out of elementary excitations. In the case of the circular Wilson loop, we match our results for the 4-point functions of a special type of scalar insertions to the prediction of localization to 2d Yang–Mills theory.« less

  18. Half-BPS Wilson loop and AdS 2/CFT 1

    DOE PAGES

    Giombi, Simone; Roiban, Radu; Tseytlin, Arkady A.

    2017-09-01

    Here, we study correlation functions of local operator insertions on the 1/2-BPS Wilson line in N=4 super Yang–Mills theory. These correlation functions are constrained by the 1d superconformal symmetry pre-served by the 1/2-BPS Wilson line and define a defect CFT 1 living on the line. At strong coupling, a set of elementary operator insertions with protected scaling dimensions correspond to fluctuations of the dual fundamental string in AdS 5×S 5 ending on the line at the boundary and can be thought of as light fields propagating on the AdS 2 worldsheet. We use AdS/CFT techniques to compute the tree-level AdSmore » 2 Witten diagrams describing the strong coupling limit of the four-point functions of the dual operator insertions. Using the OPE, we also extract the leading strong coupling corrections to the anomalous dimensions of the “two-particle” operators built out of elementary excitations. In the case of the circular Wilson loop, we match our results for the 4-point functions of a special type of scalar insertions to the prediction of localization to 2d Yang–Mills theory.« less

  19. Cost effectiveness of adding 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate (PCV-7) vaccine to the Norwegian childhood vaccination program.

    PubMed

    Wisløff, Torbjørn; Abrahamsen, Tore G; Bergsaker, Marianne A Riise; Løvoll, Øistein; Møller, Per; Pedersen, Maren Kristine; Kristiansen, Ivar Sønbø

    2006-07-17

    Streptococcus pneumoniae is a frequent bacterial cause of serious infections that may cause permanent sequelae and death. A 7-valent conjugate vaccine may reduce the incidence of pneumococcal disease, but some previous studies have questioned the cost-effectiveness of the vaccine. The aim of this study was to estimate costs and health consequences of adding this pneumococcal vaccine to the Norwegian childhood vaccination programme, taking the possibility of herd immunity into account. We developed a simulation model (Markov-model) using data on the risk of pneumococcal disease in Norway, the efficacy of the vaccine as observed in clinical trials from other countries and adjusted for serotype differences, the cost of the vaccine and quality of life for patients with sequelae from pneumococcal disease. The results were expressed as incremental (additional) costs (in euros; euro1.00 approximately NOK8.37), incremental life years and incremental quality adjusted life years. Four different sets of main results are presented: costs and (quality adjusted) life years, with and without indirect costs (the value of lost production due to work absenteeism) and with and without potential herd immunity (i.e. childhood vaccination protects adults against pneumococcal disease). When indirect costs were disregarded, and four vaccine doses used, the incremental cost per life year gained was euro153,000 when herd immunity was included, and euro311,000 when it was not. When accounting for indirect costs as well, the cost per life year gained was euro58,000 and euro124,000, respectively. Assuming that three vaccine doses provide the same protection as four, the cost per life year gained with this regimen was euro90,000 with herd immunity and euro184,000 without (when indirect costs are disregarded). If indirect costs are also included, vaccination both saves costs and gains life years. In Norway, governmental guidelines indicate that only interventions with cost per life year of less

  20. Landscape context alters cost of living in honeybee metabolism and feeding

    PubMed Central

    Dixon, Kingsley W.; Didham, Raphael K.; Bradshaw, S. Donald

    2017-01-01

    Field metabolic rate (FMR) links the energy budget of an animal with the constraints of its ecosystem, but is particularly difficult to measure for small organisms. Landscape degradation exacerbates environmental adversity and reduces resource availability, imposing higher costs of living for many organisms. Here, we report a significant effect of landscape degradation on the FMR of free-flying Apis mellifera, estimated using 86Rb radio-isotopic turnover. We validated the relationship between 86Rb kb and metabolic rate for worker bees in the laboratory using flow-through respirometry. We then released radioisotopically enriched individuals into a natural woodland and a heavily degraded and deforested plantation. FMRs of worker bees in natural woodland vegetation were significantly higher than in a deforested landscape. Nectar consumption, estimated using 22Na radio-isotopic turnover, also differed significantly between natural and degraded landscapes. In the deforested landscape, we infer that the costs of foraging exceeded energetic availability, and honeybees instead foraged less and depended more on stored resources in the hive. If this is generally the case with increasing landscape degradation, this will have important implications for the provision of pollination services and the effectiveness and resilience of ecological restoration practice. PMID:28179522

  1. The HOCS paradigm shift from disciplinary knowledge (LOCS)--to interdisciplinary evaluative, system thinking (HOCS): what should it take in science-technology-environment-society oriented courses, curricula and assessment?

    PubMed

    Zoller, U; Scholz, R W

    2004-01-01

    Given the current world state of affairs, striving for sustainability and the consequent paradigm shift: growth-to-sustainable development, correction-to-prevention and options selection-to-options generation: the corresponding paradigm shift in science-technology-environment-society (STES) education is unavoidable. Accordingly, the essence of the current reform in STES education, worldwide, is a purposed effort to develop students' higher-order cognitive skills (HOCS) capability; i.e., question-asking, critical system thinking, decision making and problem solving, at the expense of the "delivery" of lower-order cognitive skills (LOCS)-oriented knowledge. This means a paradigm shift from the contemporary prevalent LOCS algorithmic teaching to HOCS evaluative learning and HOCS-promoting courses, curricula, teaching strategies and assessment methodologies, leading, hopefully to evaluative thinking and transfer. Following the formulation of selected relevant axioms, major paradigm shift in STES research and education for sustainability have been identified. The consequent shift, in the STES context, from disciplinary to inter- and transdisciplinary learning, in science technology and environmental engineering education is discussed, followed by selected examples of successfully implemented HOCS-promoting courses, and assessment methodologies. It is argued, that transferable "HOCS learning" for sustainability can and should be done.

  2. Euclidean Wilson loops and minimal area surfaces in lorentzian AdS 3

    DOE PAGES

    Irrgang, Andrew; Kruczenski, Martin

    2015-12-14

    The AdS/CFT correspondence relates Wilson loops in N=4 SYM theory to minimal area surfaces in AdS 5 × S 5 space. If the Wilson loop is Euclidean and confined to a plane (t, x) then the dual surface is Euclidean and lives in Lorentzian AdS 3 c AdS 5. In this paper we study such minimal area surfaces generalizing previous results obtained in the Euclidean case. Since the surfaces we consider have the topology of a disk, the holonomy of the flat current vanishes which is equivalent to the condition that a certain boundary Schrödinger equation has all its solutionsmore » anti-periodic. If the potential for that Schrödinger equation is found then reconstructing the surface and finding the area become simpler. In particular we write a formula for the Area in terms of the Schwarzian derivative of the contour. Finally an infinite parameter family of analytical solutions using Riemann Theta functions is described. In this case, both the area and the shape of the surface are given analytically and used to check the previous results.« less

  3. A cost effectiveness analysis of maintenance cognitive stimulation therapy (MCST) for people with dementia: examining the influence of cognitive ability and living arrangements.

    PubMed

    Brown, Heather; D'Amico, Francesco; Knapp, Martin; Orrell, Martin; Rehill, Amritpal; Vale, Luke; Robinson, Louise

    2018-03-12

    Identify if cost-effectiveness of Maintenance Cognitive Simulation Therapy (MCST) differs by type of living arrangement and cognitive ability of the person with dementia. Next, a value of information analysis is performed to inform decisions about future research. Incremental cost-effectiveness analysis applying seemingly unrelated regressions using data from a multicentre RCT of MCST versus treatment as usual in a population which had already received 7 weeks of CST for dementia (ISRCTN: 26286067). The findings from the cost-effectiveness analysis are used to inform a value of information analysis. The results are dependent upon how quality adjusted life years (QALYs) are measured. MCST might be cost-effective compared to standard treatment for those who live alone and those with higher levels of cognitive functioning. If a further RCT was to be conducted for this sub-group of the population, value of information analysis suggests a total sample of 48 complete cases for both sub-groups would be required for a two-arm trial. The expected net gain of conducting this future research is £920 million. Preliminary results suggest that MCST may be most cost-efficient for people with dementia who live alone and/or who have higher cognition. Future research in this area is needed.

  4. Improving institutional fairness to live kidney donors: donor needs must be addressed by safeguarding donation risks and compensating donation costs.

    PubMed

    Schulz-Baldes, Annette; Delmonico, Francis L

    2007-11-01

    The number of kidney transplants from live donors is increasing worldwide, yet donor needs have not been satisfactorily addressed in either developed or developing countries. This paper argues that unmet donor needs are unfair to live kidney donors in two ways. First, when safeguards against the risks of donation are insufficient, live donation can impair the donor's health and thus his or her fair opportunities to access jobs and offices and to function as a free and equal citizen more generally. Secondly, when the financial costs of donation are not fully compensated, operational fairness (associated with the nephrectomy event) is compromised for the donor. The donor assumes the risks of a nontherapeutic intervention--for the good of the recipient and society--and should not have to incur costs for donating. Based on a systematic analysis of unmet donor needs in developed and developing countries, context-relative measures to improve institutional fairness to live kidney donors are delineated in this paper. The identified ways of safeguarding donation risks and compensating donation costs are not merely means to removing disincentives for donation and increasing donation rates. They are essential for preserving institutional fairness in the health care of the live kidney donor.

  5. The Impact of Living in Rural and Urban Areas: Vitamin D and Medical Costs in Veterans

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bailey, Beth A.; Manning, Todd; Peiris, Alan N.

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: Living in a rural region is associated with significant health disparities and increased medical costs. Vitamin D deficiency, which is increasingly common, is also associated with many adverse health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine whether rural-urban residence status of veterans was related to vitamin D levels, and…

  6. Comparing five alternative methods of breast reconstruction surgery: a cost-effectiveness analysis.

    PubMed

    Grover, Ritwik; Padula, William V; Van Vliet, Michael; Ridgway, Emily B

    2013-11-01

    The purpose of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of five standardized procedures for breast reconstruction to delineate the best reconstructive approach in postmastectomy patients in the settings of nonirradiated and irradiated chest walls. A decision tree was used to model five breast reconstruction procedures from the provider perspective to evaluate cost-effectiveness. Procedures included autologous flaps with pedicled tissue, autologous flaps with free tissue, latissimus dorsi flaps with breast implants, expanders with implant exchange, and immediate implant placement. All methods were compared with a "do-nothing" alternative. Data for model parameters were collected through a systematic review, and patient health utilities were calculated from an ad hoc survey of reconstructive surgeons. Results were measured in cost (2011 U.S. dollars) per quality-adjusted life-year. Univariate sensitivity analyses and Bayesian multivariate probabilistic sensitivity analysis were conducted. Pedicled autologous tissue and free autologous tissue reconstruction were cost-effective compared with the do-nothing alternative. Pedicled autologous tissue was the slightly more cost-effective of the two. The other procedures were not found to be cost-effective. The results were robust to a number of sensitivity analyses, although the margin between pedicled and free autologous tissue reconstruction is small and affected by some parameter values. Autologous pedicled tissue was slightly more cost-effective than free tissue reconstruction in irradiated and nonirradiated patients. Implant-based techniques were not cost-effective. This is in agreement with the growing trend at academic institutions to encourage autologous tissue reconstruction because of its natural recreation of the breast contour, suppleness, and resiliency in the setting of irradiated recipient beds.

  7. Cost-effectiveness of adding granulocyte colony-stimulating factor to primary prophylaxis with antibiotics in small-cell lung cancer.

    PubMed

    Timmer-Bonte, Johanna N H; Adang, Eddy M M; Smit, Hans J M; Biesma, Bonne; Wilschut, Frank A; Bootsma, Gerben P; de Boo, Theo M; Tjan-Heijnen, Vivianne C G

    2006-07-01

    Recently, a Dutch, randomized, phase III trial demonstrated that, in small-cell lung cancer patients at risk of chemotherapy-induced febrile neutropenia (FN), the addition of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (GCSF) to prophylactic antibiotics significantly reduced the incidence of FN in cycle 1 (24% v 10%; P = .01). We hypothesized that selecting patients at risk of FN might increase the cost-effectiveness of GCSF prophylaxis. Economic analysis was conducted alongside the clinical trial and was focused on the health care perspective. Primary outcome was the difference in mean total costs per patient in cycle 1 between both prophylactic strategies. Cost-effectiveness was expressed as costs per percent-FN-prevented. For the first cycle, the mean incremental costs of adding GCSF amounted to 681 euro (95% CI, -36 to 1,397 euro) per patient. For the entire treatment period, the mean incremental costs were substantial (5,123 euro; 95% CI, 3,908 to 6,337 euro), despite a significant reduction in the incidence of FN and related savings in medical care consumption. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was 50 euro per percent decrease of the probability of FN (95% CI, -2 to 433 euro) in cycle 1, and the acceptability for this willingness to pay was approximately 50%. Despite the selection of patients at risk of FN, the addition of GCSF to primary antibiotic prophylaxis did not result in cost savings. If policy makers are willing to pay 240 euro for each percent gain in effect (ie, 3,360 euro for a 14% reduction in FN), the addition of GCSF can be considered cost effective.

  8. Evaluation of the long-term cost-effectiveness of IDegLira versus liraglutide added to basal insulin for patients with type 2 diabetes failing to achieve glycemic control on basal insulin in the USA.

    PubMed

    Hunt, B; Mocarski, M; Valentine, W J; Langer, J

    2017-07-01

    IDegLira, a fixed ratio combination of insulin degludec and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist liraglutide, utilizes the complementary mechanisms of action of these two agents to improve glycemic control with low risk of hypoglycemia and avoidance of weight gain. The aim of the present analysis was to assess the long-term cost-effectiveness of IDegLira vs liraglutide added to basal insulin, for patients with type 2 diabetes not achieving glycemic control on basal insulin in the US setting. Projections of lifetime costs and clinical outcomes were made using the IMS CORE Diabetes Model. Treatment effect data for patients receiving IDegLira and liraglutide added to basal insulin were modeled based on the outcomes of a published indirect comparison, as no head-to-head clinical trial data is currently available. Costs were accounted in 2015 US dollars ($) from a healthcare payer perspective. IDegLira was associated with small improvements in quality-adjusted life expectancy compared with liraglutide added to basal insulin (8.94 vs 8.91 discounted quality-adjusted life years [QALYs]). The key driver of improved clinical outcomes was the greater reduction in glycated hemoglobin associated with IDegLira. IDegLira was associated with mean costs savings of $17,687 over patient lifetimes vs liraglutide added to basal insulin, resulting from lower treatment costs and cost savings as a result of complications avoided. The present long-term modeling analysis found that IDegLira was dominant vs liraglutide added to basal insulin for patients with type 2 diabetes failing to achieve glycemic control on basal insulin in the US, improving clinical outcomes and reducing direct costs.

  9. Cost-utility analysis of the housing and health intervention for homeless and unstably housed persons living with HIV.

    PubMed

    Holtgrave, David R; Wolitski, Richard J; Pals, Sherri L; Aidala, Angela; Kidder, Daniel P; Vos, David; Royal, Scott; Iruka, Nkemdiri; Briddell, Kate; Stall, Ron; Bendixen, Arturo Valdivia

    2013-06-01

    We present a cost-utility analysis based on data from the Housing and Health (H&H) Study of rental assistance for homeless and unstably housed persons living with HIV in Baltimore, Chicago and Los Angeles. As-treated analyses found favorable associations of housing with HIV viral load, emergency room use, and perceived stress (an outcome that can be quantitatively linked to quality of life). We combined these outcome data with information on intervention costs to estimate the cost-per-quality-adjusted-life-year (QALY) saved. We estimate that the cost-per-QALY-saved by the HIV-related housing services is $62,493. These services compare favorably (in terms of cost-effectiveness) to other well-accepted medical and public health services.

  10. An evidence-based definition of lifelong premature ejaculation: report of the International Society for Sexual Medicine Ad Hoc Committee for the Definition of Premature Ejaculation.

    PubMed

    McMahon, Chris G; Althof, Stanley; Waldinger, Marcel D; Porst, Hartmut; Dean, John; Sharlip, Ira; Adaikan, P G; Becher, Edgardo; Broderick, Gregory A; Buvat, Jacques; Dabees, Khalid; Giraldi, Annamaria; Giuliano, François; Hellstrom, Wayne J G; Incrocci, Luca; Laan, Ellen; Meuleman, Eric; Perelman, Michael A; Rosen, Raymond; Rowland, David; Segraves, Robert

    2008-08-01

    To develop a contemporary, evidence-based definition of premature ejaculation (PE). There are several definitions of PE; the most commonly quoted, the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - 4th Edition - Text Revision, and other definitions of PE, are all authority-based rather than evidence-based, and have no support from controlled clinical and/or epidemiological studies. Thus in August 2007, the International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM) appointed several international experts in PE to an Ad Hoc Committee for the Definition of PE. The committee met in Amsterdam in October 2007 to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of current definitions of PE, to critically assess the evidence in support of the constructs of ejaculatory latency, ejaculatory control, sexual satisfaction and personal/interpersonal distress, and to propose a new evidence-based definition of PE. The Committee unanimously agreed that the constructs which are necessary to define PE are rapidity of ejaculation, perceived self-efficacy, and control and negative personal consequences from PE. The Committee proposed that lifelong PE be defined as a male sexual dysfunction characterized by ejaculation which always or nearly always occurs before or within about one minute of vaginal penetration, and the inability to delay ejaculation on all or nearly all vaginal penetrations, and negative personal consequences, such as distress, bother, frustration and/or the avoidance of sexual intimacy. This definition is limited to men with lifelong PE who engage in vaginal intercourse. The panel concluded that there are insufficient published objective data to propose an evidence-based definition of acquired PE. The ISSM definition of lifelong PE represents the first evidence-based definition of PE. This definition will hopefully lead to the development of new tools and patient-reported outcome measures for diagnosing and assessing the efficacy of treatment

  11. Cost-effectiveness of a mild compared with a standard strategy for IVF: a randomized comparison using cumulative term live birth as the primary endpoint.

    PubMed

    Polinder, S; Heijnen, E M E W; Macklon, N S; Habbema, J D F; Fauser, B J C M; Eijkemans, M J C

    2008-02-01

    BACKGROUND Conventional ovarian stimulation and the transfer of two embryos in IVF exhibits an inherent high probability of multiple pregnancies, resulting in high costs. We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of a mild compared with a conventional strategy for IVF. METHODS Four hundred and four patients were randomly assigned to undergo either mild ovarian stimulation/GnRH antagonist co-treatment combined with single embryo transfer, or standard stimulation/GnRH agonist long protocol and the transfer of two embryos. The main outcome measures are total costs of treatment within a 12 months period after randomization, and the relationship between total costs and proportion of cumulative pregnancies resulting in term live birth within 1 year of randomization. RESULTS Despite a significantly increased average number of IVF cycles (2.3 versus 1.7; P < 0.001), lower average total costs over a 12-month period (8333 versus euro10 745; P = 0.006) were observed using the mild strategy. This was mainly due to higher costs of the obstetric and post-natal period for the standard strategy, related to multiple pregnancies. The costs per pregnancy leading to term live birth were euro19 156 in the mild strategy and euro24 038 in the standard. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of the standard strategy compared with the mild strategy was euro185 000 per extra pregnancy leading to term live birth. CONCLUSIONS Despite an increased mean number of IVF cycles within 1 year, from an economic perspective, the mild treatment strategy is more advantageous per term live birth. It is unlikely, over a wide range of society's willingness-to-pay, that the standard treatment strategy is cost-effective, compared with the mild strategy.

  12. Cost effectiveness of adding clostridial collagenase ointment to selective debridement in individuals with stage IV pressure ulcers.

    PubMed

    Carter, Marissa J; Gilligan, Adrienne M; Waycaster, Curtis R; Schaum, Kathleen; Fife, Caroline E

    2017-03-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine the cost effectiveness (from a payer's perspective) of adding clostridial collagenase ointment (CCO) to selective debridement compared with selective debridement alone (non-CCO) in the treatment of stage IV pressure ulcers among patients identified from the US Wound Registry. A 3-state Markov model was developed to determine costs and outcomes between the CCO and non-CCO groups over a 2-year time horizon. Outcome data were derived from a retrospective clinical study and included the proportion of pressure ulcers that were closed (epithelialized) over 2 years and the time to wound closure. Transition probabilities for the Markov states were estimated from the clinical study. In the Markov model, the clinical outcome is presented as ulcer-free weeks, which represents the time the wound is in the epithelialized state. Costs for each 4-week cycle were based on frequencies of clinic visits, debridement, and CCO application rates from the clinical study. The final model outputs were cumulative costs (in US dollars), clinical outcome (ulcer-free weeks), and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) at 2 years. Compared with the non-CCO group, the CCO group incurred lower costs ($11,151 vs $17,596) and greater benefits (33.9 vs 16.8 ulcer-free weeks), resulting in an economically dominant ICER of -$375 per ulcer. Thus, for each additional ulcer-free week that can be gained, there is a concurrent cost savings of $375 if CCO treatment is selected. Over a 2-year period, an additional 17.2 ulcer-free weeks can be gained with concurrent cost savings of $6,445 for each patient. In this Markov model based on real-world data from the US Wound Registry, the addition of CCO to selective debridement in the treatment of pressure ulcers was economically dominant over selective debridement alone, resulting in greater benefit to the patient at lower cost.

  13. Implications of Changes in Households and Living Arrangements for Future Home-based Care Needs and Costs of Disabled Elders in China1

    PubMed Central

    Zeng, Yi; Chen, Huashuai; Wang, Zhenglian; Land, Kenneth C.

    2016-01-01

    Objectives Understand future home-based care needs/costs for disabled elders in China. Method Further develop/apply ProFamy extended cohort-component method. Results (1) Chinese disabled elders and percentage of national GDP devoted to home-based care costs for disabled elders will increase much quicker than growth of total elderly population; (2) Home-based care needs/costs for disabled oldest-old aged 80+ will increase much faster than that for disabled young-old aged 65–79 after 2030; (3) Disabled unmarried elders living alone and their home-based care costs increase substantially faster than disabled unmarried elders living with children; (4) Sensitivity analyses shown that possible changes in mortality and elderly disability status are the major factors affecting home-based care needs and costs; (5) Caregivers resources under two-child policy will be substantially better than under current fertility policy unchanged. Discussion Policy recommendations concerning reductions of prevalence of disability, gender equality, two-child policy, encouraging elder’s residential proximity to their adult children, etc. PMID:25213460

  14. Valid randomization-based p-values for partially post hoc subgroup analyses.

    PubMed

    Lee, Joseph J; Rubin, Donald B

    2015-10-30

    By 'partially post-hoc' subgroup analyses, we mean analyses that compare existing data from a randomized experiment-from which a subgroup specification is derived-to new, subgroup-only experimental data. We describe a motivating example in which partially post hoc subgroup analyses instigated statistical debate about a medical device's efficacy. We clarify the source of such analyses' invalidity and then propose a randomization-based approach for generating valid posterior predictive p-values for such partially post hoc subgroups. Lastly, we investigate the approach's operating characteristics in a simple illustrative setting through a series of simulations, showing that it can have desirable properties under both null and alternative hypotheses. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  15. Cost-effectiveness of community vegetable gardens for people living with HIV in Zimbabwe.

    PubMed

    Puett, Chloe; Salpéteur, Cécile; Lacroix, Elisabeth; Zimunya, Simbarashe Dennis; Israël, Anne-Dominique; Aït-Aïssa, Myriam

    2014-01-01

    There is little evidence to date of the potential impact of vegetable gardens on people living with HIV (PLHIV), who often suffer from social and economic losses due to the disease. From 2008 through 2011, Action Contre la Faim France (ACF) implemented a project in Chipinge District, eastern Zimbabwe, providing low-input vegetable gardens (LIGs) to households of PLHIV. Program partners included Médecins du Monde, which provided medical support, and Zimbabwe's Agricultural Extension Service, which supported vegetable cultivation. A survey conducted at the end of the program found LIG participants to have higher Food Consumption Scores (FCS) and Household Dietary Diversity Scores (HDDS) relative to comparator households of PLHIV receiving other support programs. This study assessed the incremental cost-effectiveness of LIGs to improve FCS and HDDS of PLHIV compared to other support programs. This analysis used an activity-based cost model, and combined ACF accounting data with estimates of partner and beneficiary costs derived using an ingredients approach to build an estimate of total program resource use. A societal perspective was adopted to encompass costs to beneficiary households, including their opportunity costs and an estimate of their income earned from vegetable sales. Qualitative methods were used to assess program benefits to beneficiary households. Effectiveness data was taken from a previously-conducted survey. Providing LIGs to PLHIV cost an additional 8,299 EUR per household with adequate FCS and 12,456 EUR per household with HDDS in the upper tertile, relative to comparator households of PLHIV receiving other support programs. Beneficiaries cited multiple tangible and intangible benefits from LIGs, and over 80% of gardens observed were still functioning more than one year after the program had finished. Cost outcomes were 20-30 times Zimbabwe's per capita GDP, and unlikely to be affordable within government services. This analysis concludes that

  16. Cost-effectiveness of adding rituximab to fludarabine and cyclophosphamide for treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia in Ukraine.

    PubMed

    Mandrik, Olena; Corro Ramos, Isaac; Knies, Saskia; Al, Maiwenn; Severens, Johan L

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness, from a health care perspective, of adding rituximab to fludarabine and cyclophosphamide scheme (FCR versus FC) for treatment-naïve and refractory/relapsed Ukrainian patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. A decision-analytic Markov cohort model with three health states and 1-month cycle time was developed and run within a life time horizon. Data from two multinational, prospective, open-label Phase 3 studies were used to assess patients' survival. While utilities were generalized from UK data, local resource utilization and disease-associated treatment, hospitalization, and side effect costs were applied. The alternative scenario was performed to assess the impact of lower life expectancy of the general population in Ukraine on the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) for treatment-naïve patients. One-way, two-way, and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were conducted to assess the robustness of the results. The ICER (in US dollars) of treating chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients with FCR versus FC is US$8,704 per quality-adjusted life year gained for treatment-naïve patients and US$11,056 for refractory/relapsed patients. When survival data were modified to the lower life expectancy of the general population in Ukraine, the ICER for treatment-naïve patients was higher than US$13,000. This value is higher than three times the current gross domestic product per capita in Ukraine. Sensitivity analyses have shown a high impact of rituximab costs and a moderate impact of differences in utilities on the ICER. Furthermore, probabilistic sensitivity analyses have shown that for refractory/relapsed patients the probability of FCR being cost-effective is higher than for treatment-naïve patients and is close to one if the threshold is higher than US$15,000. State coverage of rituximab treatment may be considered a cost-effective treatment for the Ukrainian population under conditions of economic

  17. Distribution of Information in Ad Hoc Networks

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2007-09-01

    2.4. MACA Protocol...................................20 Figure 2.5. Route discovery in AODV (From [32]).............28 Figure 2.6. Creation of a...19 Figure 2.3. Exposed terminal Problem (From [20]) (3) MACA and MACAW Protocols. One of the first protocols conceived for wireless local area...networks is MACA [21] (Multiple Accesses with Collision Avoidance). The transmitter sends a small packet, or RTS (Request To Send), which has little

  18. Landscape context alters cost of living in honeybee metabolism and feeding.

    PubMed

    Tomlinson, Sean; Dixon, Kingsley W; Didham, Raphael K; Bradshaw, S Donald

    2017-02-08

    Field metabolic rate (FMR) links the energy budget of an animal with the constraints of its ecosystem, but is particularly difficult to measure for small organisms. Landscape degradation exacerbates environmental adversity and reduces resource availability, imposing higher costs of living for many organisms. Here, we report a significant effect of landscape degradation on the FMR of free-flying Apis mellifera , estimated using 86 Rb radio-isotopic turnover. We validated the relationship between 86 Rb k b and metabolic rate for worker bees in the laboratory using flow-through respirometry. We then released radioisotopically enriched individuals into a natural woodland and a heavily degraded and deforested plantation. FMRs of worker bees in natural woodland vegetation were significantly higher than in a deforested landscape. Nectar consumption, estimated using 22 Na radio-isotopic turnover, also differed significantly between natural and degraded landscapes. In the deforested landscape, we infer that the costs of foraging exceeded energetic availability, and honeybees instead foraged less and depended more on stored resources in the hive. If this is generally the case with increasing landscape degradation, this will have important implications for the provision of pollination services and the effectiveness and resilience of ecological restoration practice. © 2017 The Author(s).

  19. Formal and informal care for disabled elderly living in the community: an appraisal of French care composition and costs.

    PubMed

    Paraponaris, Alain; Davin, Bérengère; Verger, Pierre

    2012-06-01

    Choices between formal and informal care for disabled elderly people living at home are a key component of the long-term care provision issues faced by an ageing population. This paper aims to identify factors associated with the type of care (informal, formal, mixed or no care at all) received by the French disabled elderly and to assess the care's relative costs. This paper uses data from a French survey on disability; the 3,500 respondents of interest lived at home, were aged 60 and over, had severe disability and needed help with activities of daily living. We use a multinomial probit model to determine factors associated with type of care. We also assess the cost of care with the help of the proxy good method. One-third of disabled elderly people receive no care. Among those who are helped, 55% receive informal, 25% formal, and 20% mixed care. Low socioeconomic status increases difficulties in accessing formal care. The estimated economic value of informal care is 6.6 billion euro [95% CI = 5.9-7.2] and represents about two-thirds of the total cost of care. Public policies should pay more attention to inequalities in access to community care. They also should better support informal care, through respite care or workplace accommodations (working hours rescheduling or reduction for instance) not detrimental for the career of working caregivers.

  20. Cost-effectiveness of raising HDL cholesterol by adding prolonged-release nicotinic acid to statin therapy in the secondary prevention setting: a French perspective.

    PubMed

    Roze, S; Ferrières, J; Bruckert, E; Van Ganse, E; Chapman, M J; Liens, D; Renaudin, C

    2007-11-01

    To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of raising high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) with add-on nicotinic acid in statin-treated patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) and low HDL-C, from the French healthcare system perspective. Computer simulation economic modelling incorporating two decision analytic submodels was used. The first submodel generated a cohort of 2000 patients and simulated lipid changes using baseline characteristics and treatment effects from the ARterial Biology for the Investigation of the Treatment Effects of Reducing cholesterol (ARBITER 2) study. Prolonged-release (PR) nicotinic acid (1 g/day) was added in patients with HDL-C < 40 mg/dl (1.03 mmol/l) on statin alone. The second submodel used standard Markov techniques to evaluate long-term clinical and economic outcomes based on Framingham risk estimates. Direct medical costs were accounted from a third party payer perspective [2004 Euros (euro)] and discounted by 3%. Addition of PR nicotinic acid to statin therapy resulted in substantial health gain and increased life expectancy, at a cost well within the threshold (< 50,000 euros per life year gained) considered good value for money in Western Europe. Raising HDL-C by adding PR nicotinic acid to statin therapy in CHD patients was cost-effective in France at a level considered to represent good value for money by reimbursement authorities in Europe. This strategy was highly cost-effective in CHD patients with type 2 diabetes.

  1. Ad-Hoc Implicature in Preschool Children

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stiller, Alex J.; Goodman, Noah D.; Frank, Michael C.

    2015-01-01

    If a speaker tells us that "some guests were late to the party," we typically infer that not all were. Implicatures, in which an ambiguous statement ("some and possibly all") is strengthened pragmatically (to "some and not all"), are a paradigm case of pragmatic reasoning. Inferences of this sort are difficult for…

  2. Low cost label-free live cell imaging for biological samples

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Seniya, C.; Towers, C. E.; Towers, D. P.

    2017-02-01

    This paper reports the progress to develop a practical phase measuring microscope offering new capabilities in terms of phase measurement accuracy and quantification of cell:cell interactions over the longer term. A novel, low cost phase interference microscope for imaging live cells (label-free) is described. The method combines the Zernike phase contrast approach with a dual mirror design to enable phase modulation between the scattered and un-scattered optical fields. Two designs are proposed and demonstrated, one of which retains the common path nature of Zernike's original microscopy concept. In both setups the phase shift is simple to control via a piezoelectric driven mirror in the back focal plane of the imaging system. The approach is significantly cheaper to implement than those based on spatial light modulators (SLM) at approximately 20% of the cost. A quantitative assessment of the performance of a set of phase shifting algorithms is also presented, specifically with regard to broad bandwidth illumination in phase contrast microscopy. The simulation results show that the phase measurement accuracy is strongly dependent on the algorithm selected and the optical path difference in the sample.

  3. Using Google AdWords for international multilingual recruitment to health research websites.

    PubMed

    Gross, Margaret S; Liu, Nancy H; Contreras, Omar; Muñoz, Ricardo F; Leykin, Yan

    2014-01-20

    Google AdWords, the placement of sponsored links in Google search results, is a potent method of recruitment to Internet-based health studies and interventions. However, the performance of Google AdWords varies considerably depending on the language and the location of the target audience. Our goal was to describe differences in AdWords performance when recruiting participants to the same study conducted in four languages and to determine whether AdWords campaigns can be optimized in order to increase recruitment while decreasing costs. Google AdWords were used to recruit participants to the Mood Screener, a multilingual online depression screening tool available in English, Russian, Spanish, and Chinese. Two distinct recruitment periods are described: (1) "Unmanaged", a 6-month period in which ads were allowed to run using only the AdWords tool itself, with no human intervention, and (2) "Managed", a separate 7-week period during which we systematically sought to optimize our recruitment campaigns. During 6 months of unmanaged recruitment, our ads were shown over 1.3 million times, resulting in over 60,000 site visits. The average click-through rate (ratio of ads clicked to ads displayed) varied from 1.86% for Chinese ads to 8.48% for Russian ads, as did the average cost-per-click (from US $0.20 for Chinese ads to US $0.50 for English ads). Although Chinese speakers' click-through rate was lowest, their rate of consenting to participate was the highest, at 3.62%, with English speakers exhibiting the lowest consent rate (0.97%). The conversion cost (cost to recruit a consenting participant) varied from US $10.80 for Russian speakers to US $51.88 for English speakers. During the 7 weeks of "managed" recruitment, we attempted to improve AdWords' performance in regards to the consent rate and cost by systematically deleting underperforming ads and adjusting keywords. We were able to increase the number of people who consent after coming to the site by 91.8% while also

  4. Using Google AdWords for International Multilingual Recruitment to Health Research Websites

    PubMed Central

    Gross, Margaret S; Liu, Nancy H; Contreras, Omar; Muñoz, Ricardo F

    2014-01-01

    Background Google AdWords, the placement of sponsored links in Google search results, is a potent method of recruitment to Internet-based health studies and interventions. However, the performance of Google AdWords varies considerably depending on the language and the location of the target audience. Objective Our goal was to describe differences in AdWords performance when recruiting participants to the same study conducted in four languages and to determine whether AdWords campaigns can be optimized in order to increase recruitment while decreasing costs. Methods Google AdWords were used to recruit participants to the Mood Screener, a multilingual online depression screening tool available in English, Russian, Spanish, and Chinese. Two distinct recruitment periods are described: (1) “Unmanaged”, a 6-month period in which ads were allowed to run using only the AdWords tool itself, with no human intervention, and (2) “Managed”, a separate 7-week period during which we systematically sought to optimize our recruitment campaigns. Results During 6 months of unmanaged recruitment, our ads were shown over 1.3 million times, resulting in over 60,000 site visits. The average click-through rate (ratio of ads clicked to ads displayed) varied from 1.86% for Chinese ads to 8.48% for Russian ads, as did the average cost-per-click (from US $0.20 for Chinese ads to US $0.50 for English ads). Although Chinese speakers’ click-through rate was lowest, their rate of consenting to participate was the highest, at 3.62%, with English speakers exhibiting the lowest consent rate (0.97%). The conversion cost (cost to recruit a consenting participant) varied from US $10.80 for Russian speakers to US $51.88 for English speakers. During the 7 weeks of “managed” recruitment, we attempted to improve AdWords’ performance in regards to the consent rate and cost by systematically deleting underperforming ads and adjusting keywords. We were able to increase the number of people who

  5. The costs of caring: medical costs of Alzheimer's disease and the managed care environment.

    PubMed

    Murman, D L

    2001-01-01

    This review summarizes the medical costs associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias, as well as the payers responsible for these medical costs in the US health care system. It is clear from this review that AD and related dementias are associated with substantial medical costs. The payers responsible for a majority of these costs are families of patients with AD and the US government through the Medicare and Medicaid programs. In an attempt to control expenditures, Medicare and Medicaid have turned to managed care principles and managed care organizations. The increase in "managed" dementia care gives rise to several potential problems for patients with AD, along with many opportunities for systematic improvement in the quality of dementia care. Evidence-based disease management programs provide the greatest opportunities for improving managed dementia care but will require the development of dementia-specific quality of care measures to evaluate and continually improve them.

  6. Projecting the potential impact of the Cap-Score™ on clinical pregnancy, live births, and medical costs in couples with unexplained infertility.

    PubMed

    Babigumira, Joseph B; Sharara, Fady I; Garrison, Louis P

    2018-01-01

    The Cap-Score™ was developed to assess the capacitation status of men, thereby enabling personalized management of unexplained infertility by choosing timed intrauterine insemination (IUI), versus immediate in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) in individuals with a low Cap-Score™. The objective of this study was to estimate the differences in outcomes and costs comparing the use of the Cap-Score™ with timed IUI (CS-TI) and the standard of care (SOC), which was assumed to be three IUI cycles followed by three IVF-ICSI cycles. We developed and parameterized a decision-analytic model of management of unexplained infertility for women based on data from the published literature. We calculated the clinical pregnancy rates, live birth rates, and medical costs comparing CS-TI and SOC. We used Monte Carlo simulation to quantify uncertainty in projected estimates and performed univariate sensitivity analysis. Compared to SOC, CS-TI was projected to increase the pregnancy rate by 1-26%, marginally reduce live birth rates by 1-3% in couples with women below 40 years, increase live birth rates by 3-7% in couples with women over 40 years, reduce mean medical costs by $4000-$19,200, reduce IUI costs by $600-$1370, and reduce IVF costs by $3400-$17,800, depending on the woman's age. The Cap-Score™ is a potentially valuable clinical tool for management of unexplained infertility because it is projected to improve clinical pregnancy rates, save money, and, depending on the price of the test, increase access to treatment for infertility.

  7. Life Cycles of Ad Hoc Task Groups

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1983-10-01

    Rick’s Cafe after work. . 25 Alexandra: You have connections? 26 Ken: Yes! ൣ Alexandra: You can be the industrial spy! (Pause) We don’t really need...with franchising --he could do a whole business strictly dealing with spare parts. We have to describe these packages and describe how to... (words

  8. Toward the development of a low-cost laser Doppler module for ophthalmic microscopes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cattini, Stefano; Rovati, Luigi

    2012-03-01

    A laser Doppler module easily integrated into a commercial ophthalmic microscope is proposed. Such setup adds flow measurement capability to standard visual inspection of the fundus. The proposed instrument may provide important clinical information such as the detection of vessel occlusion provided by surgical treatments (i.e. photocoagulation). The measuring system is based on a self-mixing laser diode Doppler flowmeter (SM-DF). Reduced costs, easy implementation and small size represent the main features of SM-DF. Moreover, this technique offers the advantage to have the excitation and measurement beams spatially overlapped, thus both overcoming the alignment difficulty of traditional laser Doppler flowmeter and, well fitting with to limited optical aperture of the pupil. Thanks to an on-board DSP-microcontroller, the optoelectronic module directly estimates the blood flow; USB connection and an ad-hoc developed user-friendly software interface allow displaying the result on a personal computer. Preliminary test demonstrates the applicability of the proposed measuring system.

  9. An evidence-based definition of lifelong premature ejaculation: report of the International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM) ad hoc committee for the definition of premature ejaculation.

    PubMed

    McMahon, Chris G; Althof, Stanley E; Waldinger, Marcel D; Porst, Hartmut; Dean, John; Sharlip, Ira D; Adaikan, P G; Becher, Edgardo; Broderick, Gregory A; Buvat, Jacques; Dabees, Khalid; Giraldi, Annamaria; Giuliano, François; Hellstrom, Wayne J G; Incrocci, Luca; Laan, Ellen; Meuleman, Eric; Perelman, Michael A; Rosen, Raymond C; Rowland, David L; Segraves, Robert

    2008-07-01

    The medical literature contains several definitions of premature ejaculation (PE). The most commonly quoted definition, the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fourth Edition-Text Revision, and other definitions of PE are all authority based rather than evidence based, and have no support from controlled clinical and/or epidemiological studies. The aim of this article is to develop a contemporary, evidence-based definition of PE. In August 2007, the International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM) appointed several international experts in PE to an Ad Hoc Committee for the Definition of Premature Ejaculation. The committee met in Amsterdam in October 2007 to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of current definitions of PE, to critique the evidence in support of the constructs of ejaculatory latency, ejaculatory control, sexual satisfaction, and personal/interpersonal distress, and to propose a new evidence-based definition of PE. The committee unanimously agreed that the constructs that are necessary to define PE are rapidity of ejaculation, perceived self-efficacy and control, and negative personal consequences from PE. The committee proposed that lifelong PE be defined as ". . . a male sexual dysfunction characterized by ejaculation which always or nearly always occurs prior to or within about one minute of vaginal penetration, and the inability to delay ejaculation on all or nearly all vaginal penetrations, and negative personal consequences, such as distress, bother, frustration and/or the avoidance of sexual intimacy." This definition is limited to men with lifelong PE who engage in vaginal intercourse. The panel concluded that there are insufficient published objective data to propose an evidence-based definition of acquired PE. The ISSM definition of lifelong PE represents the first evidence-based definition of PE. This definition will hopefully lead to the development of new tools and Patient Reported

  10. Comparative costs of programmes to conserve chicken genetic variation based on maintaining living populations or storing cryopreserved material

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Consolidations in the poultry breeding industry and academic poultry departments have resulted in the loss of avian populations. The cost of maintaining living populations is high, but ex-situ alternatives are now available. Semen can be cryopreserved and lines can be recovered by backcrossing, or...

  11. Recruitment of rural healthcare professionals for live continuing education.

    PubMed

    Holuby, Ronnie Scott; Pellegrin, Karen L; Barbato, Anna; Ciarleglio, Anita

    2015-01-01

    Introduction The availability of rural healthcare is a growing concern in the United States as fewer healthcare providers choose to work in rural areas. Accessing quality continuing education (CE) for rural healthcare practitioners (HCPs) remains a challenge and may pose a barrier to quality care. Methods To maximize attendance at a live, in-person, free CE program focusing on geriatric medication and issues specifically targeted to HCPs in rural areas, two methods were implemented sequentially. The first method used formal advertising implemented by a professional marketing service to promote CE events. The second method enlisted local healthcare organizations and physician groups to promote the CE event to their employees. Cost per attendee was calculated for comparison. Results Professional marketing services recruited 31 HCPs (March 2011) and resulted in a per-participant recruitment cost of US$428.62. Local healthcare organizations and physician groups' marketing recruited 48 HCPs (July-August 2011) and resulted in a per-participant recruitment cost of US$55.19. Discussion Providing free CE coordinated through local healthcare organizations and physician groups was the most cost-effective method of recruiting rural HCPs for CE. Formal advertising added cost without increasing the number of participants per event. Although this is the first study of the cost-effectiveness of recruitment methods targeting HCPs in rural areas, results are consistent with research on cost-effectiveness of outreach to rural lay community members.

  12. Recruitment of rural healthcare professionals for live continuing education.

    PubMed

    Holuby, Ronnie Scott; Pellegrin, Karen L; Barbato, Anna; Ciarleglio, Anita

    2015-01-01

    The availability of rural healthcare is a growing concern in the United States as fewer healthcare providers choose to work in rural areas. Accessing quality continuing education (CE) for rural healthcare practitioners (HCPs) remains a challenge and may pose a barrier to quality care. To maximize attendance at a live, in-person, free CE program focusing on geriatric medication and issues specifically targeted to HCPs in rural areas, two methods were implemented sequentially. The first method used formal advertising implemented by a professional marketing service to promote CE events. The second method enlisted local healthcare organizations and physician groups to promote the CE event to their employees. Cost per attendee was calculated for comparison. Professional marketing services recruited 31 HCPs (March 2011) and resulted in a per-participant recruitment cost of US$428.62. Local healthcare organizations and physician groups' marketing recruited 48 HCPs (July-August 2011) and resulted in a per-participant recruitment cost of US$55.19. Providing free CE coordinated through local healthcare organizations and physician groups was the most cost-effective method of recruiting rural HCPs for CE. Formal advertising added cost without increasing the number of participants per event. Although this is the first study of the cost-effectiveness of recruitment methods targeting HCPs in rural areas, results are consistent with research on cost-effectiveness of outreach to rural lay community members.

  13. The evaluability bias in charitable giving: Saving administration costs or saving lives?

    PubMed Central

    Caviola, Lucius; Faulmüller, Nadira; Everett, Jim. A. C.; Savulescu, Julian; Kahane, Guy

    2014-01-01

    We describe the “evaluability bias”: the tendency to weight the importance of an attribute in proportion to its ease of evaluation. We propose that the evaluability bias influences decision making in the context of charitable giving: people tend to have a strong preference for charities with low overhead ratios (lower administrative expenses) but not for charities with high cost-effectiveness (greater number of saved lives per dollar), because the former attribute is easier to evaluate than the latter. In line with this hypothesis, we report the results of four studies showing that, when presented with a single charity, people are willing to donate more to a charity with low overhead ratio, regardless of cost-effectiveness. However, when people are presented with two charities simultaneously—thereby enabling comparative evaluation—they base their donation behavior on cost-effectiveness (Study 1). This suggests that people primarily value cost-effectiveness but manifest the evaluability bias in cases where they find it difficult to evaluate. However, people seem also to value a low overhead ratio for its own sake (Study 2). The evaluability bias effect applies to charities of different domains (Study 3). We also show that overhead ratio is easier to evaluate when its presentation format is a ratio, suggesting an inherent reference point that allows meaningful interpretation (Study 4). PMID:25279024

  14. Cost-effectiveness of community vegetable gardens for people living with HIV in Zimbabwe

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background There is little evidence to date of the potential impact of vegetable gardens on people living with HIV (PLHIV), who often suffer from social and economic losses due to the disease. From 2008 through 2011, Action Contre la Faim France (ACF) implemented a project in Chipinge District, eastern Zimbabwe, providing low-input vegetable gardens (LIGs) to households of PLHIV. Program partners included Médecins du Monde, which provided medical support, and Zimbabwe's Agricultural Extension Service, which supported vegetable cultivation. A survey conducted at the end of the program found LIG participants to have higher Food Consumption Scores (FCS) and Household Dietary Diversity Scores (HDDS) relative to comparator households of PLHIV receiving other support programs. This study assessed the incremental cost-effectiveness of LIGs to improve FCS and HDDS of PLHIV compared to other support programs. Methods This analysis used an activity-based cost model, and combined ACF accounting data with estimates of partner and beneficiary costs derived using an ingredients approach to build an estimate of total program resource use. A societal perspective was adopted to encompass costs to beneficiary households, including their opportunity costs and an estimate of their income earned from vegetable sales. Qualitative methods were used to assess program benefits to beneficiary households. Effectiveness data was taken from a previously-conducted survey. Results Providing LIGs to PLHIV cost an additional 8,299 EUR per household with adequate FCS and 12,456 EUR per household with HDDS in the upper tertile, relative to comparator households of PLHIV receiving other support programs. Beneficiaries cited multiple tangible and intangible benefits from LIGs, and over 80% of gardens observed were still functioning more than one year after the program had finished. Conclusions Cost outcomes were 20–30 times Zimbabwe's per capita GDP, and unlikely to be affordable within government

  15. Rapid self-organised initiation of ad hoc sensor networks close above the percolation threshold

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Korsnes, Reinert

    2010-07-01

    This work shows potentials for rapid self-organisation of sensor networks where nodes collaborate to relay messages to a common data collecting unit (sink node). The study problem is, in the sense of graph theory, to find a shortest path tree spanning a weighted graph. This is a well-studied problem where for example Dijkstra’s algorithm provides a solution for non-negative edge weights. The present contribution shows by simulation examples that simple modifications of known distributed approaches here can provide significant improvements in performance. Phase transition phenomena, which are known to take place in networks close to percolation thresholds, may explain these observations. An initial method, which here serves as reference, assumes the sink node starts organisation of the network (tree) by transmitting a control message advertising its availability for its neighbours. These neighbours then advertise their current cost estimate for routing a message to the sink. A node which in this way receives a message implying an improved route to the sink, advertises its new finding and remembers which neighbouring node the message came from. This activity proceeds until there are no more improvements to advertise to neighbours. The result is a tree network for cost effective transmission of messages to the sink (root). This distributed approach has potential for simple improvements which are of interest when minimisation of storage and communication of network information are a concern. Fast organisation of the network takes place when the number k of connections for each node ( degree) is close above its critical value for global network percolation and at the same time there is a threshold for the nodes to decide to advertise network route updates.

  16. Nutritional status and health care costs for the elderly living in municipal residential homes--an intervention study.

    PubMed

    Lorefält, B; Andersson, A; Wirehn, A B; Wilhelmsson, S

    2011-02-01

    The aim was to study the effect of individualised meals on nutritional status among older people living in municipal residential homes and to compare the results with a control group. An additional aim was to estimate direct health care costs for both groups. Six different municipal residential homes in the south-east of Sweden. Older people living in three residential homes constituted the intervention group n=42 and the rest constituted the control group n=67. A multifaceted intervention design was used. Based on an interview with staff a tailored education programme about nutritional care, including both theoretical and practical issues, was carried through to staff in the intervention group. Nutritional status among the elderly was measured by Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), individualised meals were offered to the residents based on the results of the MNA. Staff in the control group only received education on how to measure MNA and the residents followed the usual meal routines. Nutritional status was measured by MNA at baseline and after 3 months. Cost data on health care visits during 2007 were collected from the Cost Per Patient database. Nutritional status improved and body weight increased after 3 months in the intervention group. Thus, primary health care costs constituted about 80% of the total median cost in the intervention group and about 55% in the control group. With improved knowledge the staff could offer the elderly more individualised meals. One of their future challenges is to recognise and assess nutritional status among this group. If malnutrition could be prevented health care costs should be reduced.

  17. Effect of simultaneously started clomiphene citrate and gonadotropins in antagonist regimes, on cumulative live births, fresh-cycle live births and cost of stimulation in IVF cycles.

    PubMed

    Satwik, Ruma; Kochhar, Mohinder

    2018-04-11

    The aim of the study was to compare simultaneously started clomiphene citrate (CC) and gonadotropins (Gn) with gonadotropins alone in conventional antagonist regimes with respect to fresh-cycle live births, cumulative live births and cost of ovarian stimulation per started cycle. This was a single-center prospective cohort study conducted over 1 year. Women undergoing autologous in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment in antagonist protocols and who consented to participate in the study were divided into two cohorts. The CC cohort (n = 86) received 50 mg CC for 5 days and individualized Gn daily until the hCG trigger, both starting from day 2 and antagonist daily from day 8 of menstrual cycle. The Gn-only cohort (n = 349) received individualized Gn from day 2 and the antagonist from day 7 of menstrual cycle. IVF outcomes and cost of stimulation were compared between two cohorts across expected ovarian response categories. The CC cohort used a mean lower dose of Gn (1741.38 ± 604.46 vs 1980.54 ± 686.42; MD = -239.16; 95%CI = -348.03 to -189.24; P = 0.003) over fewer days (8.54 ± 1.86 vs 9.25 ± 1.97; MD =-0.71;95% CI = -1.17 to -0.25; P = 0.0026) to achieve similar retrieved oocytes, (9.19 ± 5.92 vs 9.36 ± 6.96; MD = -0.17; 95%CI -1.77 to + 1.43; P = 0.83), positive bhCG rates (40% vs 29.6%, MD = 10.4%; OR = 1.65, 95%CI = 0.95-2.86; P = 0.078) and live births in fresh cycles (32.31% vs 21.30%; MD = 11.01%; OR = 1.76; 95%CI = 0.97-3.19; P = 0.06) and cumulative live births per initiated cycle (30.23% vs 20.34%; MD = 9.89%; OR = 1.697; 95%CI = 0.99-2.88; P = 0.0501). The dose lowering achieved a 28-40% reduction in the cost of stimulation, which was most noticeable in the hyper-responder category for both hMG cycles, (Rs.11 602.3 ± 3365.9 vs 19615 ± 2677.1; MD = -8012.7; %age reduction: 40.8%; P = 0.0007) and recombinant FSH cycles (Rs. 22

  18. How redesigning AD clinical trials might increase study partners’ willingness to participate

    PubMed Central

    Karlawish, Jason; Cary, Mark S.; Rubright, Jonathan; TenHave, Tom

    2008-01-01

    Background: Timely recruiting and retaining participants into Alzheimer disease (AD) clinical trials is a challenge. We used conjoint analysis to identify how alterations in attributes of clinical trial design improve willingness to participate: risk, home visits, car service, or increased chance of receiving intervention. Method: A total of 108 study partners of patients with very mild to severe stage AD rated willingness to allow their relative to participate in eight clinical trials that varied combinations of the four attributes. Results: The highest utility was for home visits (0.89) which essentially compensated for the disutility of high risk (−0.85). The combination of home visits and car service was redundant, with almost no increase in utility over home visits alone. Seventeen percent were willing to participate in a trial with no amenities; the addition of home visits increased predicted willingness to participate to 27%; low risk, home visits, and higher chance of active treatment increased predicted willingness to 60%. The value of reducing the hassles of travel correlated well with measures of AD severity (activities of daily living r = 0.41, p < 0.001; basic activities of daily living r = 0.38, p < 0.001; Neuropsychiatric Inventory severity p = 0.24, p = 0.01; Neuropsychiatric Inventory distress r = 0.23, p < 0.02). No association was found between degree of study partner burden and willingness to tolerate risk of an intervention. Conclusion: Clinical trials that reduce travel inconvenience may offset the disincentive of study features such as the risk of intervention and may also increase willingness to participate. Redesigning trials may also help recruit patients with more severe Alzheimer disease. Shorter recruitment periods and increased retention rates may offset costs of these changes. GLOSSARY AD = Alzheimer disease; BLUP = best linear unbiased prediction; RAQ = Research Attitude Questionnaire. PMID:19047560

  19. Cost-effectiveness of adding novel or group 5 interventions to a background regimen for the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in Germany.

    PubMed

    Wirth, Daniel; Dass, Ramesh; Hettle, Robert

    2017-03-08

    Treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is complex, lengthy, and involves a minimum of four drugs termed a background regimen (BR), that have not previously been prescribed or that have proven susceptible to patient sputum culture isolates. In recent years, promising new treatment options have emerged as add-on therapies to a BR. The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term costs and effectiveness of adding the novel or group 5 interventions bedaquiline, delamanid, and linezolid to a background regimen (BR) of drugs for the treatment of adult patients with pulmonary multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), within their marketing authorisations, from a German healthcare cost-effectiveness perspective. A cohort-based Markov model was developed to simulate the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of bedaquiline plus BR, delamanid plus BR, or linezolid plus BR versus BR alone in the treatment of MDR-TB, over a 10-year time horizon. Effectiveness of treatment was evaluated in Quality-Adjusted Life-Years (QALYs) and Life-Years Gained (LYG), using inputs from clinical trials for bedaquiline and delamanid and from a German observational study for linezolid. Cost data were obtained from German Drug Directory costs (€/2015), published literature, and expert opinion. A 3% yearly discount rate was applied. Probabilistic and deterministic sensitivity analyses were conducted. The total discounted costs per-patient were €85,575 for bedaquiline plus BR, €81,079 for delamanid plus BR, and €80,460 for linezolid plus BR, compared with a cost of €60,962 for BR alone. The total discounted QALYs per-patient were 5.95 for bedaquiline plus BR, 5.36 for delamanid plus BR, and 3.91 for linezolid plus BR, compared with 3.68 for BR alone. All interventions were therefore associated with higher QALYs and higher costs than BR alone, with incremental costs per QALY gained of €22,238 for bedaquiline, €38,703 for delamanid, and €87,484 for linezolid, versus

  20. [Cost- effectiveness analysis of pneumococcal vaccination in Iceland].

    PubMed

    Björnsdóttir, Margrét

    2010-09-01

    Pneumococcus is a common cause of disease among children and the elderly. With the emergence of resistant serotypes, antibiotic treatment is getting limited. Many countries have therefore introduced a vaccination program among children against the most common serotypes. The aim of this study was to analyse cost-effectiveness of adding a vaccination program against pneumococcus in Iceland. A cost-effectiveness analysis was carried out from a societal perspective where the cost-effectiveness ratio ICER was estimated from the cost of each additional life and life year saved. The analyse was based on the year 2008 and all cost were calculated accordingly. The rate of 3% was used for net present-value calculation. Annual societal cost due to pneumococcus in Iceland was estimated to be 718.146.252 ISK if children would be vaccinated but 565.026.552 ISK if they would not be vaccinated. The additional cost due to the vaccination program was therefore 153.119.700 ISK . The vaccination program could save 0,669 lives among children aged 0-4 years old and 21.11 life years. The cost was 228.878.476 ISK for each additional life saved and 7.253.420 ISK for each additional life year saved. Given initial assumptions the results indicate that a vaccination programme against pneumococcal disease in Iceland would be cost effective.